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Frozen Pension protesters urge Queen to ban the UK from the Commonwealth
| Published: | 13 Sep at 6 PM |
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British expat retirees living in countries where their UK state pensions are frozen have taken their grievances to the head of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II.
The International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP) has been fighting for pension parity with their counterparts living in EU countries and states which have reciprocal agreements with the UK. However, the UK government claims that upgrading all state pensions is unaffordable, and has rejected figures which prove that the savings made by the exchequer on added state benefits and healthcare more than cover the costs involved.
Chair of the ICBP Sheila Telford submitted a letter to Her Majesty this week in an attempt to break the deadlock by urging the monarch to come out in support of the half a million Britons affected by the immoral, unfair and unjust ruling. In the letter, she noted that, last March, the Queen signed the historic Charter of the Commonwealth which celebrated its implacable opposition to discrimination and espousing of the values of inclusiveness.
The letter continued that the government is treating pensioners across the world and specifically in the Commonwealth countries of Australia and Canada as second class citizens by denying them their pension rights. The UK, the letter concluded, is in persistent violation of the Charter and therefore has no position within the Commonwealth of Nations.
A copy was sent to Prince Charles and to the Commonwealth Secretary General, urging support for a motion of suspension against the UK at November’s Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. When asked to comment, a Palace spokesperson replied that comments are not made on correspondence, adding that pensions are a matter for the UK government.
The International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP) has been fighting for pension parity with their counterparts living in EU countries and states which have reciprocal agreements with the UK. However, the UK government claims that upgrading all state pensions is unaffordable, and has rejected figures which prove that the savings made by the exchequer on added state benefits and healthcare more than cover the costs involved.
Chair of the ICBP Sheila Telford submitted a letter to Her Majesty this week in an attempt to break the deadlock by urging the monarch to come out in support of the half a million Britons affected by the immoral, unfair and unjust ruling. In the letter, she noted that, last March, the Queen signed the historic Charter of the Commonwealth which celebrated its implacable opposition to discrimination and espousing of the values of inclusiveness.
The letter continued that the government is treating pensioners across the world and specifically in the Commonwealth countries of Australia and Canada as second class citizens by denying them their pension rights. The UK, the letter concluded, is in persistent violation of the Charter and therefore has no position within the Commonwealth of Nations.
A copy was sent to Prince Charles and to the Commonwealth Secretary General, urging support for a motion of suspension against the UK at November’s Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. When asked to comment, a Palace spokesperson replied that comments are not made on correspondence, adding that pensions are a matter for the UK government.
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