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pensioners debate
Pensioners debate
Added 12 March 2010
With all the focus on Youth and the need to give them a say, some of us at W4MP (well, OK, one of us whose musical appreciation never progressed much after Lay Down Your Arms) were heartened to read this in Hansard yesterday:
11 Mar 2010 : Column 440
Jim Sheridan (Paisley and Renfrewshire, North) (Lab): You will be aware, Mr. Speaker, as will my right hon. and learned Friend, of the excellent event that took place a few months ago when we invited youths from all over the country to come and sit in this place. Will my right hon. and learned Friend therefore accommodate some of our elderly folk to enable them to come here and organise a similar event in this House, so that we can get the views of some of our "wellderly" people on the issues that matter to them?
Ms Harman: We could take further the very good precedent that was set by the UK Youth Parliament when, at a time when this House was not sitting, we allowed it to be here. All the Benches were absolutely packed, with half young men and half young women, and a great many wheelchair users; it was ethnically diverse and it was a fantastic debate. I think that we could do more of that. Perhaps the next thing that we could do would be to have the National Pensioners Convention here, with pensioners and retired people from all over the country coming to sit and debate and have their voices heard in this Parliament. I thank my hon. Friend for raising this; it is an exceptionally good idea, and I sense a great deal of support for it.
Yo, bring it on Man! Where do we book tickets?
