Show of grey power for pensioners

Feb 15 2008

ABOUT  200 pensioners gathered together in Birmingham yesterday in a show of political "grey power".

The West Midlands Pensioners' Convention parliament brought together elderly people from across the region to hammer out their position on income, transport, care and a variety of other issues.

The gathering, at Carrs Lane Church Centre, was the first time the group had ever held a regional assembly for old people.

The most common complaint was the level of the state pension, currently pegged at under £100 a week, which many said was barely enough to survive on.

David Williams, the treasurer of the West Midlands Pensioners' Convention, said he had been absolutely delighted at the turnout, and was expecting the parliament to become a regular fixture.

He said: "The main issue as far as we are concerned, has to be the issue of income. We regard the amount of the state pension given out as pitifully small, and it was a major issue for a lot of the people there."

The regional committee will be taking their demands to the national pensioners' convention in Blackpool.

After discussion they will be taken on to the Government when the convention lobbies MPs.