Will you sign my letter to Iain Duncan Smith

19.07.11 - Barbara Bates

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