Raising State Pension Age Will Affect 50,000 In PM's Constituency, Says Labour

Raising State Pension Age Will Affect 50,000 In PM's Constituency, Says Labour
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More than 50,000 people in Theresa May's constituency will be affected by the Tories' plan to raise the state pension age, Labour has said.

The Government wants to extend the retirement age from 66 to 68 from 2037, which Labour says will see 36.9 million people having to work longer.

New analysis by the party suggests tens of thousands of people in every parliamentary constituency will be affected, given they are under 47 years old.

This includes 56,547 people in the Prime Minister's constituency of Maidenhead; 59,290 in South West Hertfordshire, the constituency of Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke, and 61,753 in Chancellor Philip Hammond's constituency of Runnymede and Weybridge.

Debbie Abrahams, shadow work and pensions secretary, has now launched a "national state pension tour" meeting with pensioner groups and others around the UK to highlight the issue.

"Conservative MPs must explain to the tens of thousands of people in their constituencies why the burden of Tory austerity is being pushed on to them while corporations and the richest individuals receive tax breaks," she said.

"Theresa May should answer her 56,547 constituents, and the 36.9 million people across Britain, whose hard-earned retirements are being postponed because of her government.

"Labour will keep the state pension age at 66 and this tour will help us review, as part of our commitment to people-powered politics, the pension system, with a view to guaranteeing a secure and healthy retirement for the many, not just the few."