The SNP has slammed the UK government’s failure to protect Scotland’s older people during the cost of living crisis, highlighting the “shamefully inadequate” UK state pension which trails far behind Scotland’s European neighbours.
Delegates have backed a resolution that supports a Real Living Pension for Scotland’s older people – in sharp contrast to the UK’s record of the lowest state pension in the developed world, according to the OECD.
SNP Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Kirsty Blackman MP said:
“The UK State Pension is shamefully inadequate – one of the lowest schemes in the developed world – and the UK government seems hell-bent on delivering policy that makes life more difficult for our older people.
“From reneging on the Triple Lock Tory manifesto commitment, scrapping free TV licences for the over-75s and the scandalous injustice faced by the WASPI women, successive Westminster governments have failed our older people time and again.
“Pensions are not safe under Westminster control – as has been clearly shown by the extraordinary intervention from the Bank of England to stabilise the markets because of the UK government’s economic vandalism.
“With independence, Scotland can deliver a fair deal for our pensioners and show how much the contribution of our older people is actually valued – a far cry from the careless actions of a Westminster Tory government that simply doesn’t care.”
