Rishi Sunak 'totally ignored' older people in Tory conference speech

07 October 2023 , 16:42

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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been accused of 'ignoring' the challenges facing older people (Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak has been accused of “totally ignoring” the challenges facing older people at last week’s Tory conference.

Silver Voices, which campaigns on behalf of over-60s, said the PM’s conference speech had no clear answer on the social care crisis or hospital waiting lists. And despite weeks of speculation, Mr Sunak failed to mention the pensions triple-lock in his hour-long address in Manchester.

“I doubt whether one older voter who has deserted the Conservatives will have changed their opinion because of this speech,” director Dennis Reed said. “The one and a half million older people who are not receiving the social care they need to live with dignity in their own homes, and the thousands each year who are being forced to sell their homes to pay for residential care will be disgusted that their predicaments were ignored.”

He added: “We remember that Boris Johnson stood on the steps of Downing Street in 2019 promising to end the social care crisis “once and for all” and it now seems that older people are being relegated to second class citizen status, in order that the “next generations” can be prioritised.

“Millions of older people will now be worried that their pensions and benefits will come under renewed attack, as there were no reassuring mentions of the challenges they face, in Mr. Sunak’s speech. There seems to be no “brighter future” for the older generations to look forward to, if the PM’s speech is the true indicator of the Government’s priorities.”

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