Calling on the government to stick to their promise
10.08.11
I am sure there are many ladies out there like myself who are devastated and angry at facing up to a further two years increase in their pension age so close to retirement. To date, the government has shown no signs of reconsidering this proposal or the promised so called transitional arrangements.
I have created a petition on the Downing Street website, calling on the government to fulfil their promise in the Coalition Agreement not to increase the pension age for women before 2020. Unions Together have been mounting an excellent campaign and there have been many other petitions but I think it is still useful for the government to know that we haven’t gone away and we are still angry. We must continue to put pressure on them while we can. Click here to sign the petition: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/864
There is also a Facebook campaign group which can be found here: Protest against proposed accelerated rise of state pension age.
Dear Paul, Chris and Greg
Save our NHS summer campaign
Thank you for working with us as part of this important new campaign, and acting as a local campaign contact and coordinator.
Cameron is breaking all his NHS promises, and together the Tory-Lib Dem Government are wasting millions of pounds on a huge NHS reorganisation which will lead to more privatisation, more bureaucracy and worse patient care. They are railroading NHS legislation through Parliament and we want to make it harder for Lib Dem and marginal Tory MPs in key areas like yours to back these NHS plans.
We’d like you to organise campaign activities in your area to raise public concern and put pressure on the local MP in Chippenham before the next big Commons debate on the NHS bill and in the run-up to the Party conferences. The first target weekend will be 3rd and 4th September.
In this campaign, we are trying and testing a new approach to draw on the strength of local Labour and union members campaigning together to protect our NHS.
The Labour Party, Unite, Unison and GMB via national TULO are working together to produce a single set of campaign materials – leaflets, petition, street stall materials, voter ID scripts, model press releases – for use by the Party and the unions to talk to the public about the Government’s NHS bill and reorganisation. We will be providing these resources free of charge to target seats like yours.
Most important of all, however, is your role – as one of the local campaign coordinators we have identified in the local Labour Party and in one of the local unions. By doing this, we aim to see local members from both the Labour Party and the trade unions drawn into work together with you on the NHS campaign.
On the NHS Action Weekend, September 3rd and 4th, we are asking that Labour Party and Trade Union activists work together to hold ‘Save the NHS’ street stalls in local High Streets, and undertake NHS-themed door-knocking. We also hope to get local press coverage about the campaign and the pressure we are putting on local Tory and Lib Dem MPs.
Your local co-contacts are:
Union contacts: Paul Maloney, paul.maloney@gmb.org.uk and Chris Howe, c.howe@unison.co.uk
CLP contact: Greg Lovell, greg@thisfairearth.com, 01249 714705
We hope you will be able to make contact with each other and work together on this joint campaign.
The campaign materials will ready and available to you by the middle of August, well in advance of the NHS Action Weekend.
Your national contact is Helen Symons or Jack Smith at TULO: helen@unionstogether.org.uk and jack@unionstogether.org.uk, or you can call the office on 020 7783 1166.
Please do let us know as soon as you have an agreed time and meeting place for your street stall, so that we can advertise it as widely as possible and maximise attendance.
We will email you further updates to help you plan, including: visuals of the campaign materials in advance; model press releases and contact details for the regional Labour communications officer who can help with media work.
It’s our NHS. We must fight to save it.
We look forward to working with you on our NHS campaign.
Thanks, and best wishes.
John Healey MP - Labour Shadow Health Secretary
Rehana Azam, National Officer, Health, GMB
Christine McAnea, Head of Health, UNISON
Rachael Maskell, National Officer, Health, Unite the Union
Lancaster Pensioners take their ‘hands off’ petition to their MP
01.08.11
This is a great article in the Lancaster Guardian last week - well done to Cal Giles and the Lancaster District Pensioners' Campaign Group for saying 'hands off our pensions!' to their MP.
http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/page/-/Files/28-Jul-2011-LancGuardianAngryPensioners.JPG
View Comments1000 signatories!
21.07.11
We have already reached 1000 signatures to save our NHS. Keep spreading the word to your colleagues, friends and family!
http://www.nhsalert.org.uk/joinourfight
View CommentsWe love the NHS: join our fight to save it
20.07.11
Just yesterday, when the scrutinising eyes of the media were firmly fixed on the Murdochs’ evidence to Parliament, the Government made an announcement that shows their true colours on the NHS – the privatisation of £1 billion of NHS services. Starting in April, whole swathes of the services our NHS provides will be opened up to the private sector – including wheelchair provision for children.
We’ve heard a lot over recent months about Cameron and Clegg’s ‘reform’ of the NHS. Health professionals, patients’ organisations and the public united in their campaign to slam the brakes on the reforms.
Cameron and Clegg claim to have watered down their plans, but their NHS Bill is still a deadly threat to our National Health Service – and yesterday’s announcement proves it.
If Cameron and Clegg get their way, it will mean:
- more privatisation and more companies making money from all parts of our health service
- worse patient care including cuts, hospital closures and longer waiting times
- more red tape making it harder for nurses, doctors and other health professionals to do their jobs
- millions of pounds wasted on new bureaucracy which should be spent on patients
After the Summer break, these plans will come back to MPs in the House of Commons. Will you join our fight to stop them?
http://www.nhsalert.org.uk/joinourfight
Before the General Election, Cameron promised to “protect the NHS”, to “give the NHS a real rise in funding” and to “stop NHS reorganisations”.
But he’s breaking every single one of these promises.
After just one year of his Tory-led government, one in ten people are now waiting over 18 weeks to get into hospital for the treatment they need. And he is making it easier for private patients to jump the queue.
We have to work together if we are going to protect our NHS from Cameron and Clegg’s plans to destroy it. Will you join our campaign?
http://www.nhsalert.org.uk/joinourfight
It's our National Health Service - join our fight to save it.
View Comments
Will you sign my letter to Iain Duncan Smith
19.07.11
Back in February, when I heard that this government was going to make me wait almost two years longer for my State Pension, I got in touch with my union and asked them to take up the fight.
Since then, the petition we started has been signed by more than 12,000 people – and it was presented to the front door of 10 Downing Street itself. The Labour Party have fought hard for us in Parliament, and thousands of people across the country, many of whom have never got involved in a campaign like this before, have written letters, met their MPs, and even made sure that this story has got in their local paper. MPs from all Parties have spoken out to support our campaign.
It just shows what we can achieve when we work together.
But we still have a huge fight on our hands. A few weeks ago, when MPs from all parties spoke out in the House of Commons about how unfair these pension plans are, Iain Duncan Smith (the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions) promised to bring forward ‘transitional arrangements’ to help those hit hardest by this Government’s plans to increase the State Pension Age.
But where are the proposals for these ‘transitional arrangements’? I’ve written to Iain Duncan Smith to ask him, and I want you to sign the letter too.
http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/writetoIDS
Despite the Government’s promise to try to make their State Pension plans less unfair, every single Lib Dem and Tory MP on the Pensions Bill Committee voted against Labour’s amendments that would have made the Bill fairer.
It’s time for Iain Duncan Smith to tell us what ‘transitional arrangements' he’s got up his sleeve – so that we can find out whether they really will stop the unfairness in the Pensions Bill, or whether he’s going to try to fob us off with a free bus pass.
If he’s not going to abandon these unfair changes to our State Pension Age, then his ‘transitional arrangements’ had better be up to scratch.
Will you sign my letter too?
http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/writetoIDS
We’ve achieved so much more in this campaign than I ever thought we would, but we can’t let the Government off the hook now.
Thanks,
Barbara
View CommentsTory and Lib Dem MPs vote against our amendments to the Pensions Bill
06.07.11
Yesterday, despite all their promises that they would provide ‘transitional arrangements’ to minimise the impact on women unfairly affected by the changes to the State Pension Age included in the Pensions Bill, the Government voted down Labour amendments that would do just that.
Rachel Reeves, Shadow Pensions Minister, put forward amendments to the Committee that would stop the speeding up of the equalisation of women and men’s pension age, and that would increase the pension age to 66 at a slower pace than that suggested by the Government.
These changes, had they been accepted, would have meant women and men would be equally affected by the changes; they would have meant nobody would have to work more than a year longer; and they would give everybody more notice of changes to their pension age.
The Labour amendments would also save £20 billion on the status quo.
But that wasn’t good enough for the Government, who voted ‘NO’.
You can read what happened at the Committee here:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmpublic/pensions/110705/am/110705s01.htm
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmpublic/pensions/110705/pm/110705s01.htm
The second link contains details of how the MPs voted.
Every single Liberal Democrat and Tory MP voted AGAINST the Labour amendments to the Bill, including Stephen Lloyd, the Lib Dem MP for Eastbourne who has signed petitions in Parliament supporting our campaign. All the Labour MPs, and the Plaid Cymru MP, voted FOR the amendments to stop these unfair pension changes.
The MPs who voted to keep these unfair state pension changes in the Bill are:
Baldwin, Harriett - Conservative
Bingham, Andrew - Conservative
Boles, Nick - Conservative
Jones, Marcus - Conservative
Lloyd, Stephen - Liberal Democrat
Metcalfe, Stephen - Conservative
Rudd, Amber - Conservative
Selous, Andrew - Conservative
Sharma, Alok - Conservative
Smith, Chloe - Conservative
Webb, Steve - Liberal Democrat
MPs will still have the chance to vote on these changes again when the Bill returns to the House of Commons – and we’ll keep fighting on this one. Unfortunately, those MPs on the Committee who voted against the amendments that would have stopped these changes have shown us their true colours.
View Comments
Today’s strikes
30.06.11
Here at Unions Together we know the pride that trade unions take in their powers of negotiation. Yet even they are unable to reach an agreement with a Government that calls for negotiations in one breathe, then rejects any suggestion of compromise in the next. The end result can only be the one we are seeing today, with over 700,000 trade union members taking industrial action in protest.
We need to be clear that industrial action is the last resort for trade unions. Members have to pay the mortgage, fill the car with petrol, and feed their family. All of these tasks are becoming increasingly difficult in a time of recession. To take industrial action is to lose at least a day’s pay and also risk dismissal – taking action remains a sackable offence in UK law.
Yet the right to strike is a fundamental right. It allows workers to protest against the unreasonable actions of an employer. It is the sanction against those who do not value their employees. It gives dignity in employment. Even those who do not support today’s action must support the right of working people to take action.
A key function of the public sector has always been to improve wages and conditions in the private sector, by creating benchmark standards that the private sector must meet in order to retain able workers. The Coalition Government is perverting this logic by attempting to level down public sector pensions. For those workers in the private sector this should be a cause for concern - if the Government wins this dispute, then better pension provision in the private sector will become a distant hope.
View CommentsSo, how did our MPs vote?
22.06.11
This list shows the breakdown of votes for the Pensions Bill by Party. We were campaigning for MPs to vote NO to the Pensions Bill, to stop it moving forward in Parliament and prevent these unfair changes to the State Pension Age becoming law.
If you wrote to and emailed your MP to ask them to vote against the Pensions Bill, and they voted 'Aye', you might want to think about writing them another letter to explain how disappointed you are. You could also write to your local newspaper to tell them what you think.
MPs voting AYE (this means they supported the Pensions Bill, and voted for the Bill to carry on in Parliament)
Adams, Nigel, Conservative Party
Afriyie, Adam, Conservative Party
Aldous, Peter, Conservative Party
Alexander, Danny, Liberal Democrats
Amess, David, Conservative Party
Andrew, Stuart, Conservative Party
Arbuthnot, James, Conservative Party
Bacon, Richard, Conservative Party
Baker, Norman, Liberal Democrats
Baker, Steve, Conservative Party
Baldry, Tony, Conservative Party
Baldwin, Harriett, Conservative Party
Barclay, Steve, Conservative Party
Barker, Gregory, Conservative Party
Baron, John, Conservative Party
Barwell, Gavin, Conservative Party
Bebb, Guto, Conservative Party
Beith, Alan, Liberal Democrats
Bellingham, Henry, Conservative Party
Benyon, Richard, Conservative Party
Beresford, SirPaul, Conservative Party
Bingham, Andrew, Conservative Party
Birtwistle, Gordon, Liberal Democrats
Blackman, Bob, Conservative Party
Blackwood, Nicola, Conservative Party
Blunt, Crispin, Conservative Party
Boles, Nick, Conservative Party
Bone, Peter, Conservative Party
Bottomley, Peter, Conservative Party
Bradley, Karen, Conservative Party
Brake, Tom, Liberal Democrats
Bray, Angie, Conservative Party
Brazier, Julian, Conservative Party
Bridgen, Andrew, Conservative Party
Brine, Steve, Conservative Party
Brokenshire, James, Conservative Party
Brooke, Annette, Liberal Democrats
Buckland, Robert, Conservative Party
Burley, Aidan, Conservative Party
Burns, Conor, Conservative Party
Burns, Simon, Conservative Party
Burrowes, David, Conservative Party
Burstow, Paul, Liberal Democrats
Burt, Alistair, Conservative Party
Burt, Lorely, Liberal Democrats
Byles, Dan, Conservative Party
Cairns, Alun, Conservative Party
Campbell, SirMenzies, Liberal Democrats
Carmichael, Alistair, Liberal Democrats
Carmichael, Neil, Conservative Party
Carswell, Douglas, Conservative Party
Cash, William, Conservative Party
Chishti, Rehman, Conservative Party
Clark, Greg, Conservative Party
Clarke, Kenneth, Conservative Party
Clifton-Brown, Geoffrey, Conservative Party
Coffey, Therese, Conservative Party
Collins, Damian, Conservative Party
Colvile, Oliver, Conservative Party
Cox, Geoffrey, Conservative Party
Crabb, Stephen, Conservative Party
Crockart, Mike, Liberal Democrats
Crouch, Tracey, Conservative Party
Davies, David, Conservative Party
Davies, Glyn, Conservative Party
Davies, Philip, Conservative Party
Davis, David, Conservative Party
deBois, Nick, Conservative Party
Dinenage, Caroline, Conservative Party
Djanogly, Jonathan, Conservative Party
Dorrell, Stephen, Conservative Party
Dorries, Nadine, Conservative Party
Doyle-Price, Jackie, Conservative Party
DuncanSmith, Iain, Conservative Party
Dunne, Philip, Conservative Party
Ellis, Michael, Conservative Party
Ellison, Jane, Conservative Party
Ellwood, Tobias, Conservative Party
Elphicke, Charlie, Conservative Party
Eustice, George, Conservative Party
Evans, Graham, Conservative Party
Evans, Jonathan, Conservative Party
Evennett, David, Conservative Party
Fabricant, Michael, Conservative Party
Fallon, Michael, Conservative Party
Featherstone, Lynne, Liberal Democrats
Field, Mark, Conservative Party
Foster, Don, Liberal Democrats
Fox, Liam, Conservative Party
Francois, Mark, Conservative Party
Freeman, George, Conservative Party
Freer, Mike, Conservative Party
Fullbrook, Lorraine, Conservative Party
Fuller, Richard, Conservative Party
Garnier, Edward, Conservative Party
Garnier, Mark, Conservative Party
Gauke, David, Conservative Party
Gibb, Nick, Conservative Party
Gilbert, Stephen, Liberal Democrats
Gillan, Cheryl, Conservative Party
Glen, John, Conservative Party
Goldsmith, Zac, Conservative Party
Goodwill, Robert, Conservative Party
Gove, Michael, Conservative Party
Graham, Richard, Conservative Party
Grant, Helen, Conservative Party
Gray, James, Conservative Party
Grayling, Chris, Conservative Party
Green, Damian, Conservative Party
Greening, Justine, Conservative Party
Grieve, Dominic, Conservative Party
Griffiths, Andrew, Conservative Party
Gummer, Benedict, Conservative Party
Halfon, Robert, Conservative Party
Hames, Duncan, Liberal Democrats
Hammond, Philip, Conservative Party
Hammond, Stephen, Conservative Party
Hancock, Matthew, Conservative Party
Hands, Greg, Conservative Party
Harper, Mark, Conservative Party
Harris, Rebecca, Conservative Party
Hart, Simon, Conservative Party
Harvey, Nick, Liberal Democrats
Haselhurst, SirAlan, Conservative Party
Hayes, John, Conservative Party
Heath, David, Liberal Democrats
Heaton-Harris, Chris, Conservative Party
Hemming, John, Liberal Democrats
Henderson, Gordon, Conservative Party
Hendry, Charles, Conservative Party
Herbert, Nick, Conservative Party
Hinds, Damian, Conservative Party
Hoban, Mark, Conservative Party
Hollingbery, George, Conservative Party
Hollobone, Philip, Conservative Party
Hopkins, Kris, Conservative Party
Horwood, Martin, Liberal Democrats
Howarth, Gerald, Conservative Party
Howell, John, Conservative Party
Hughes, Simon, Liberal Democrats
Hunter, Mark, Liberal Democrats
Huppert, Julian, Liberal Democrats
Hurd, Nick, Conservative Party
Jackson, Stewart, Conservative Party
James, Margot, Conservative Party
Javid, Sajid, Conservative Party
Jenkin, Bernard, Conservative Party
Johnson, Gareth, Conservative Party
Jones, Andrew, Conservative Party
Jones, Marcus, Conservative Party
Kelly, Chris, Conservative Party
Kirby, Simon, Conservative Party
Knight, Greg, Conservative Party
Kwarteng, Kwasi, Conservative Party
Laing, Eleanor, Conservative Party
Lamb, Norman, Liberal Democrats
Lancaster, Mark, Conservative Party
Leadsom, Andrea, Conservative Party
Lee, Jessica, Conservative Party
Lee, Phillip, Conservative Party
Leech, John, Liberal Democrats
Leigh, Edward, Conservative Party
Leslie, Charlotte, Conservative Party
Letwin, Oliver, Conservative Party
Lewis, Brandon, Conservative Party
Liddell-Grainger, Ian, Conservative Party
Lloyd, Stephen, Liberal Democrats
Lopresti, Jack, Conservative Party
Lord, Jonathan, Conservative Party
Loughton, Timothy, Conservative Party
Lumley, Karen, Conservative Party
Macleod, Mary, Conservative Party
Main, Anne, Conservative Party
Maude, Francis, Conservative Party
Maynard, Paul, Conservative Party
McCartney, Karl, Conservative Party
McIntosh, Anne, Conservative Party
McLoughlin, Patrick, Conservative Party
McVey, Esther, Conservative Party
Mensch, Louise, Conservative Party
Menzies, Mark, Conservative Party
Mercer, Patrick, Conservative Party
Metcalfe, Stephen, Conservative Party
Miller, Maria, Conservative Party
Mills, Nigel, Conservative Party
Moore, Michael, Liberal Democrats
Morgan, Nicky, Conservative Party
Morris, Anne-Marie, Conservative Party
Morris, David, Conservative Party
Morris, James, Conservative Party
Mosley, Stephen, Conservative Party
Mowat, David, Conservative Party
Mulholland, Greg, Liberal Democrats
Mundell, David, Conservative Party
Munt, Tessa, Liberal Democrats
Murray, Sheryll, Conservative Party
Murrison, Andrew, Conservative Party
Neill, Bob, Conservative Party
Newmark, Brooks, Conservative Party
Newton, Sarah, Conservative Party
Nokes, Caroline, Conservative Party
Norman, Jesse, Conservative Party
Nuttall, David, Conservative Party
O'Brien, Stephen, Conservative Party
Offord, Matthew, Conservative Party
Ollerenshaw, Eric, Conservative Party
Ottaway, Richard, Conservative Party
Paice, James, Conservative Party
Parish, Neil, Conservative Party
Patel, Priti, Conservative Party
Pawsey, Mark, Conservative Party
Penning, Mike, Conservative Party
Penrose, John, Conservative Party
Percy, Andrew, Conservative Party
Perry, Claire, Conservative Party
Phillips, Stephen, Conservative Party
Pincher, Christopher, Conservative Party
Poulter, Daniel, Conservative Party
Pritchard, Mark, Conservative Party
Pugh, John, Liberal Democrats
Raab, Dominic, Conservative Party
Randall, John, Conservative Party
Reckless, Mark, Conservative Party
Redwood, John, Conservative Party
Rees-Mogg, Jacob, Conservative Party
Reevell, Simon, Conservative Party
Reid, Alan, Liberal Democrats
Rifkind, Malcolm, Conservative Party
Robathan, Andrew, Conservative Party
Robertson, Hugh, Conservative Party
Rogerson, Dan, Liberal Democrats
Rosindell, Andrew, Conservative Party
Rudd, Amber, Conservative Party
Ruffley, David, Conservative Party
Russell, Bob, Liberal Democrats
Rutley, David, Conservative Party
Sandys, Laura, Conservative Party
Selous, Andrew, Conservative Party
Shapps, Grant, Conservative Party
Sharma, Alok, Conservative Party
Shelbrooke, Alec, Conservative Party
Shepherd, Richard, Conservative Party
Simmonds, Mark, Conservative Party
Simpson, Keith, Conservative Party
Skidmore, Chris, Conservative Party
Smith, Chloe, Conservative Party
Smith, Henry, Conservative Party
Smith, Julian, Conservative Party
Smith, SirRobert, Liberal Democrats
Soames, Nicholas, Conservative Party
Soubry, Anna, Conservative Party
Spencer, Mark, Conservative Party
Stanley, SirJohn, Conservative Party
Stephenson, Andrew, Conservative Party
Stevenson, John, Conservative Party
Stewart, Bob, Conservative Party
Stewart, Iain, Conservative Party
Stewart, Rory, Conservative Party
Streeter, Gary, Conservative Party
Stuart, Graham, Conservative Party
Stunell, Andrew, Liberal Democrats
Sturdy, Julian, Conservative Party
Swayne, Desmond, Conservative Party
Syms, Robert, Conservative Party
Tapsell, SirPeter, Conservative Party
Teather, Sarah, Liberal Democrats
Thurso, John, Liberal Democrats
Timpson, Edward, Conservative Party
Tomlinson, Justin, Conservative Party
Tredinnick, David, Conservative Party
Truss, Elizabeth, Conservative Party
Turner, Andrew, Conservative Party
Tyrie, Andrew, Conservative Party
Uppal, Paul, Conservative Party
Vaizey, Ed, Conservative Party
Vara, Shailesh, Conservative Party
Vickers, Martin, Conservative Party
Walker, Charles, Conservative Party
Walker, Robin, Conservative Party
Wallace, Ben, Conservative Party
Ward, David, Liberal Democrats
Watkinson, Angela, Conservative Party
Weatherley, Michael, Conservative Party
Webb, Steve, Liberal Democrats
Wharton, James, Conservative Party
Wheeler, Heather, Conservative Party
Whittaker, Craig, Conservative Party
Whittingdale, John, Conservative Party
Wiggin, Bill, Conservative Party
Williams, Mark, Liberal Democrats
Williamson, Gavin, Conservative Party
Willott, Jenny, Liberal Democrats
Wilson, Robert, Conservative Party
Wollaston, Sarah, Conservative Party
Wright, Jeremy, Conservative Party
Wright, Simon, Liberal Democrats
Yeo, Tim, Conservative Party
Young, George, Conservative Party
Zahawi, Nadhim, Conservative Party
MPs voting NO (this means they opposed the Pensions Bill, and voted for the Bill to stop)
Abbott, Diane, Labour Party
Abrahams, Debbie, Labour Party
Ainsworth, Bob, Labour Party
Alexander, Douglas, Labour Party
Alexander, Heidi, Labour Party
Ali, Rushanara, Labour Party
Allen, Graham, Labour Party
Anderson, David, Labour Party
Ashworth, Jonathan, Labour Party
Austin, Ian, Labour Party
Bailey, Adrian, Labour/Co-operative Party
Bain, William, Labour Party
Balls, Ed, Labour/Co-operative Party
Banks, Gordon, Labour Party
Barron, Kevin, Labour Party
Beckett, Margaret, Labour Party
Begg, Anne, Labour Party
Bell, Sir Stuart, Labour Party
Benn, Hilary, Labour Party
Berger, Luciana, Labour/Co-operative Party
Betts, Clive, Labour Party
Blears, Hazel, Labour Party
Blenkinsop, Tom, Labour Party
Blomfield, Paul, Labour Party
Blunkett, David, Labour Party
Bradshaw, Benjamin, Labour Party
Brown, Lyn, Labour Party
Brown, Nicholas, Labour Party
Bryant, Chris, Labour Party
Buck, Karen, Labour Party
Burnham, Andy, Labour Party
Byrne, Liam, Labour Party
Campbell, Alan, Labour Party
Campbell, Ronnie, Labour Party
Caton, Martin, Labour Party
Chapman, Jenny, Labour Party
Clarke, Tom, Labour Party
Clwyd, Ann, Labour Party
Coaker, Vernon, Labour Party
Coffey, Ann, Labour Party
Cooper, Rosie, Labour Party
Cooper, Yvette, Labour Party
Corbyn, Jeremy, Labour Party
Crausby, David, Labour Party
Creagh, Mary, Labour Party
Creasy, Stella, Labour/Co-operative Party
Cruddas, Jon, Labour Party
Cryer, John, Labour Party
Cunningham, Alex, Labour Party
Cunningham, Jim, Labour Party
Cunningham, Tony, Labour Party
Curran, Margaret, Labour Party
Dakin, Nic, Labour Party
Danczuk, Simon, Labour Party
Darling, Alistair, Labour Party
David, Wayne, Labour Party
Davies, Geraint, Labour/Co-operative Party
Denham, John, Labour Party
DePiero, Gloria, Labour Party
Dobbin, Jim, Labour/Co-operative Party
Dobson, Frank, Labour Party
Docherty, Thomas, Labour Party
Donohoe, Brian, Labour Party
Doran, Frank, Labour Party
Dowd, Jim, Labour Party
Dromey, Jack, Labour Party
Dugher, Michael, Labour Party
Durkan, Mark, Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)
Eagle, Angela, Labour Party
Eagle, Maria, Labour Party
Edwards, Jonathan, Plaid Cymru
Efford, Clive, Labour Party
Elliott, Julie, Labour Party
Ellman, Louise, Labour/Co-operative Party
Engel, Natascha, Labour Party
Esterson, Bill, Labour Party
Evans, Chris, Labour/Co-operative Party
Farrelly, Paul, Labour Party
Field, Frank, Labour Party
Fitzpatrick, Jim, Labour Party
Flello, Robert, Labour Party
Flint, Caroline, Labour Party
Fovargue, Yvonne, Labour Party
Francis, Hywel, Labour Party
Gapes, Mike, Labour/Co-operative Party
Gardiner, Barry, Labour Party
Gilmore, Sheila, Labour Party
Glass, Pat, Labour Party
Glindon, Mary, Labour Party
Godsiff, Roger, Labour Party
Goggins, Paul, Labour Party
Goodman, Helen, Labour Party
Greatrex, Tom, Labour/Co-operative Party
Green, Kate, Labour Party
Greenwood, Lilian, Labour Party
Griffith, Nia, Labour Party
Gwynne, Andrew, Labour Party
Hain, Peter, Labour Party
Hamilton, David, Labour Party
Hamilton, Fabian, Labour Party
Hanson, David, Labour Party
Harman, Harriet, Labour Party
Havard, Dai, Labour Party
Healey, John, Labour Party
Hendrick, Mark, Labour/Co-operative Party
Heyes, David, Labour Party
Hillier, Meg, Labour/Co-operative Party
Hodge, Margaret, Labour Party
Hodgson, Sharon, Labour Party
Hoey, Kate, Labour Party
Hopkins, Kelvin, Labour Party
Hosie, Stewart, Scottish National Party (SNP)
Howarth, George, Labour Party
Hunt, Tristram, Labour Party
Irranca-Davies, Huw, Labour Party
Jackson, Glenda, Labour Party
Jamieson, Cathy, Labour/Co-operative Party
Jarvis, Dan, Labour Party
Johnson, Alan, Labour Party
Jones, Graham, Labour Party
Jones, Helen, Labour Party
Jones, Kevan, Labour Party
Jones, SusanElan, Labour Party
Jowell, Tessa, Labour Party
Joyce, Eric, Labour Party
Kaufman, Sir Gerald, Labour Party
Kendall, Liz, Labour Party
Khan, Sadiq, Labour Party
Lammy, David, Labour Party
Lavery, Ian, Labour Party
Lazarowicz, Mark, Labour/Co-operative Party
Leslie, Chris, Labour Party
Lewis, Ivan, Labour Party
Lloyd, Tony, Labour Party
Love, Andrew, Labour/Co-operative Party
Lucas, Caroline, Green Party
Lucas, Ian, Labour Party
MacNeil, Angus, Scottish National Party (SNP)
MacShane, Denis, Labour Party (suspended)
Mactaggart, Fiona, Labour Party
Mahmood, Khalid, Labour Party
Mahmood, Shabana, Labour Party
Mann, John, Labour Party
Marsden, Gordon, Labour Party
McCabe, Stephen, Labour Party
McCarthy, Kerry, Labour Party
McClymont, Gregg, Labour Party
McCrea, William, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
McDonagh, Siobhain, Labour Party
McDonnell, John, Labour Party
McFadden, Pat, Labour Party
McGovern, Alison, Labour Party
McGuire, Anne, Labour Party
McKechin, Ann, Labour Party
McKinnell, Catherine, Labour Party
Meacher, Michael, Labour Party
Mearns, Ian, Labour Party
Michael, Alun, Labour/Co-operative Party
Miliband, David, Labour Party
Miliband, Ed, Labour Party
Miller, Andrew, Labour Party
Mitchell, Austin, Labour Party
Moon, Madeleine, Labour Party
Morden, Jessica, Labour Party
Morrice, Graeme, Labour Party
Morris, Grahame, Labour Party
Mudie, George, Labour Party
Munn, Meg, Labour/Co-operative Party
Murphy, Paul, Labour Party
Nandy, Lisa, Labour Party
Nash, Pamela, Labour Party
Onwurah, ChinyeluSusan, Labour Party
Owen, Albert, Labour Party
Pearce, Teresa, Labour Party
Perkins, Toby, Labour Party
Phillipson, Bridget, Labour Party
Pound, Stephen, Labour Party
Qureshi, Yasmin, Labour Party
Raynsford, Nick, Labour Party
Reeves, Rachel, Labour Party
Reynolds, Emma, Labour Party
Reynolds, Jonathan, Labour/Co-operative Party
Riordan, Linda, Labour/Co-operative Party
Robertson, Angus, Scottish National Party (SNP)
Robertson, John, Labour Party
Robinson, Geoffrey, Labour Party
Rotheram, Steve, Labour Party
Ruane, Chris, Labour Party
Ruddock, Joan, Labour Party
Seabeck, Alison, Labour Party
Sharma, Virendra, Labour Party
Sheerman, Barry, Labour/Co-operative Party
Sheridan, James, Labour Party
Shuker, Gavin, Labour/Co-operative Party
Simpson, David, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
Skinner, Dennis, Labour Party
Slaughter, Andrew, Labour Party
Smith, Andrew, Labour Party
Smith, Angela, Labour Party
Smith, Nick, Labour Party
Smith, Owen, Labour Party
Spellar, John, Labour Party
Straw, Jack, Labour Party
Stringer, Graham, Labour Party
Stuart, Gisela, Labour Party
Sutcliffe, Gerry, Labour Party
Tami, Mark, Labour Party
Thomas, Gareth, Labour/Co-operative Party
Thornberry, Emily, Labour Party
Timms, Stephen, Labour Party
Trickett, Jon, Labour Party
Turner, Karl, Labour Party
Twigg, Stephen, Labour/Co-operative Party
Umunna, Chuka, Labour Party
Vaz, Valerie, Labour Party
Walley, Joan, Labour Party
Watson, Tom, Labour Party
Watts, David, Labour Party
Weir, Michael, Scottish National Party (SNP)
Whiteford, Eilidh, Scottish National Party (SNP)
Whitehead, Alan, Labour Party
Wicks, Malcolm, Labour Party
Williams, Hywel, Plaid Cymru
Williamson, Chris, Labour Party
Wilson, Phil, Labour Party
Winnick, David, Labour Party
Winterton, Rosie, Labour Party
Wishart, Peter, Scottish National Party (SNP)
Wood, Mike, Labour Party
Woodcock, John, Labour/Co-operative Party
Woodward, Shaun, Labour Party
Wright, David, Labour Party
Wright, Iain, Labour Party
MPs who did not vote
Bayley, Hugh, Labour Party
Benton, Joe, Labour Party
Bercow, John, Speaker
Berry, Jake, Conservative Party
Binley, Brian, Conservative Party
Blackman-Woods, Roberta, Labour Party
Brady, Graham, Conservative Party
Brennan, Kevin, Labour Party
Brown, Gordon, Labour Party
Brown, Russell, Labour Party
Browne, Jeremy, Liberal Democrats
Bruce, Fiona, Conservative Party
Bruce, Malcolm, Liberal Democrats
Burden, Richard, Labour Party
Cable, Vincent, Liberal Democrats
Cameron, David, Conservative Party
Campbell, Gregory, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
Chope, Christopher, Conservative Party
Clappison, James, Conservative Party
Clark, Katy, Labour Party
Clegg, Nick, Liberal Democrats
Connarty, Michael, Labour Party
Davey, Edward, Liberal Democrats
Davidson, Ian, Labour/Co-operative Party
Dodds, Nigel, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
Doherty, Pat, Sinn Fein
Donaldson, Jeffrey, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
Doyle, Gemma, Labour/Co-operative Party
Drax, Richard, Conservative Party
Duddridge, James, Conservative Party
Duncan, Alan, Conservative Party
Evans, Nigel, Conservative Party
Farron, Tim, Liberal Democrats
Flynn, Paul, Labour Party
Gale, Roger, Conservative Party
George, Andrew, Liberal Democrats
Gildernew, Michelle, Sinn Fein
Gyimah, Sam, Conservative Party
Hague, William, Conservative Party
Hancock, Mike, Liberal Democrats
Harrington, Richard, Conservative Party
Harris, Tom, Labour Party
Heald, Oliver, Conservative Party
Hepburn, Stephen, Labour Party
Hermon, LadySylvia, Independent
Hilling, Julie, Labour Party
Holloway, Adam, Conservative Party
Hood, James, Labour Party
Hoyle, Lindsay, Labour Party
Huhne, Chris, Liberal Democrats
Hunt, Jeremy, Conservative Party
James, Sian, Labour Party
Johnson, Diana, Labour Party
Johnson, Jo, Conservative Party
Jones, David, Conservative Party
Kawczynski, Daniel, Conservative Party
Keeley, Barbara, Labour Party
Keen, Alan, Labour/Co-operative Party
Kennedy, Charles, Liberal Democrats
Lansley, Andrew, Conservative Party
Latham, Pauline, Conservative Party
Laws, David, Liberal Democrats
Lefroy, Jeremy, Conservative Party
Lewis, Julian, Conservative Party
Lidington, David, Conservative Party
Lilley, Peter, Conservative Party
Llwyd, Elfyn, Plaid Cymru
Long, Naomi, Alliance
Luff, Peter, Conservative Party
Maskey, Paul, Sinn Fein
May, Theresa, Conservative Party
McCann, Michael, Labour Party
McCartney, Jason, Conservative Party
McDonnell, Alasdair, Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)
McGovern, Jim, Labour Party
McGuinness, Martin, Sinn Fein
McPartland, Stephen, Conservative Party
Meale, Alan, Labour Party
Milton, Anne, Conservative Party
Mitchell, Andrew, Conservative Party
Mordaunt, Penny, Conservative Party
Murphy, Conor, Sinn Fein
Murphy, Jim, Labour Party
Murray, Ian, Labour Party
O'Donnell, Fiona, Labour Party
Opperman, Guy, Conservative Party
Osborne, George, Conservative Party
Osborne, Sandra, Labour Party
PaisleyJr, Ian, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
Paterson, Owen, Conservative Party
Pickles, Eric, Conservative Party
Primarolo, Dawn, Labour Party
Prisk, Mark, Conservative Party
Reed, Jamie, Labour Party
Ritchie, Margaret, Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)
Robertson, Laurence, Conservative Party
Roy, Frank, Labour Party
Roy, Lindsay, Labour Party
Sanders, Adrian, Liberal Democrats
Sarwar, Anas, Labour Party
Scott, Lee, Conservative Party
Shannon, Jim, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
Singh, Marsha, Labour Party
Spelman, Caroline, Conservative Party
Stride, Mel, Conservative Party
Swales, Ian, Liberal Democrats
Swinson, Jo, Liberal Democrats
Swire, Hugo, Conservative Party
Twigg, Derek, Labour Party
Vaz, Keith, Labour Party
Villiers, Theresa, Conservative Party
Walter, Robert, Conservative Party
White, Chris, Conservative Party
Willetts, David, Conservative Party
Williams, Roger, Liberal Democrats
Williams, Stephen, Liberal Democrats
Wilson, Sammy, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
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Our pensions fight continues
21.06.11
Over the weekend, thousands of us piled on the pressure on the Government ahead of the Bill’s Second Reading in Parliament yesterday. 6000 of us sent emails to our MPs, and hundreds more picked up the phone to ask their MPs to vote ‘no’ and stop the Bill.
Unfortunately, we lost that vote in Parliament last night. Labour MPs opposed the Bill, but most Tories and Lib Dems voted for it to go through.
But we can still win this fight. The Bill will now go to a Committee of MPs where it can be amended. And the pressure on the Government is mounting - MPs from all the Parties stood up in Parliament to tell them that they’ve got it wrong.
We’re going to be stepping up our campaign over the next few weeks to try and change the Bill before it comes back again to the House of Commons for final approval. We want to make sure that the Government gets the message that these changes are unfair, and they have to think again.
What’s your message to the Government on state pensions?
http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/whatsyourmessage
We’ll post some of your messages on our blog, and we’ll send a selection of the best ones to Government ministers like Iain Duncan Smith, Steve Webb and George Osborne and, of course, to Cameron and Clegg themselves.
Thanks to the pressure that our campaign has put on MPs, the Government has been forced to go away and look at some of the details of these proposals. We don’t know what they’ll come up with, but we’ll be keeping a very close eye on them.
We’ll also be working closely with the Labour MPs on the Bill Committee, who are going to try to get rid of the unfair changes to the State Pension Age. As soon as we know which MPs are sitting on the Committee, we’ll be getting in touch to help us win them round.
As the Bill moves on in Parliament, we have to keep up the pressure on the Government. Send them your message now:
http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/whatsyourmessage
Let’s keep up the fight to stop these unfair pension plans.
Helen
PS. We are going to be doing some number crunching about the result last night, which we’ll put up here on our blog later. In the meantime, you can check how your MP voted here: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110620/debtext/110620-0004.htm
View CommentsPensions Bill second reading tonight
20.06.11
On Thursday, we launched our new online action – we hoped to get 1000 people to email their MPs to ask them to vote no to the Pensions Bill tonight.
Over the weekend, that total kept going up and up, and I kept increasing our campaign target.
Just a few minutes ago, we hit 5000 emails. That is an incredible effort, and shows just how strongly people feel about this campaign. If you haven’t emailed your MP yet, please do so now:
http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/giveitthechop
Hundreds of people have also got on the phone and called their MPs, too. The debate on the Pensions Bill starts at about 4pm, and we want as many MPs as possible to have had a phone call by then.
http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/pickupthephone
There’s also some good and interesting coverage in the newspapers today.
This piece in the Daily Mail says that pressure is mounting on the government to backtrack on their plans. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2005533/Pension-reforms-cost-500k-women-15k-each.html
“A climbdown on state pension age increases that will unfairly hit 500,000 women is ‘inevitable’, it was claimed last night.
Senior ministers have told the Treasury there must be a rethink on the proposals that will force women in their fifties to work for up to two years longer, according to Whitehall sources.
As MPs prepare to debate the controversial reforms today, the Treasury insisted it intends to press ahead despite the threat of a revolt by Tory and Liberal Democrat backbenchers.”
And this comment piece in the Guardian, columnist Jackie Ashley writes about the positive way that women MPs are working together to stop the Pensions Bill. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jun/19/female-mps-pensions-changing-debate
“On Monday MPs have their first chance to vote on the pensions bill, and in particular the government's plans to accelerate the increase in the state pension age. There has been a big, cross-party campaign on a subject mentioned here before, the special unfairness being visited on middle-aged women as part of the pensions reform. On this, Lib Dem MPs have come together in large numbers with Labour, and Tories too – particularly women – and may have won a rethink in cabinet.”
We’ll be watching the debate in the House of Commons closely from 4pm – you can watch online here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/tv/bbc_parliament/watchlive
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