Age UK is flexing its newly-pumped muscles for the first time since Help the Aged and Age Concern combined forces, launching a campaign called ‘Our Power is Our Number’ to influence the parties in the election battle.
Engaging De Montfort University to conduct research, the charity has discovered the over-55s will cast four out of every ten votes and make up the majority in many marginal seats.
The research paper, entitled Quantifying the Changing Age Structure of the British Electorate 2005-2025 also projects that the number of seats to have a majority of votes cast by voters aged 65+, will rise from eight in 2015 to 39 in 2025.
“This research shows that older people’s votes cannot be taken for granted and that many people are not lifelong supporters of one political party,” said Michelle Mitchell‚ Age UK charity director.
“It also illustrates that when we talk about older voters‚ we’re talking about individuals‚ not a voting bloc. Just as with all ages‚ the over-60s care about a variety of issues and their decisions are based on families‚ hopes and worries for the future,” she added.
Age UK aims to pack a punch in the election by presenting its manifesto to electoral candidates in England and challenging them to commit to a series of pledges addressing social care reform, improved pensions, ending forced retirement, improving the NHS for later life and enabling the older population to play a greater role in society.
Pre-empting the inevitable canvassing tours, Age UK set a mobile poster campaign of its own in motion yesterday. Starting at Westminster, the poster is travelling to key destinations around London during the course of the week to act as “a powerful visual reminder to MPs that people over 60 matter”.
“The success of any party in this election depends on their commitment to act on the issues which are most important to older people, who are more likely to vote than any other age group,” said Mitchell.
“Older people are fed up with second-class services and we will support them to demand action from their local candidates on care‚ age discrimination‚ the NHS and pensions.”
