Britain's elderly have been badly let down by successive Conservative and Labour Governments.

The last Conservative Government cut the link between pensions and earnings, leaving older people £30-£50 a week worse off. And the Labour Government’s 75p pensions increase last year was a real insult to our older residents.

Liberal Democrat Petition Success

Liberal Democrat MPs helped to force the Labour Government to give pensioners a better pensions rise this year after delivering thousands of petitions to the Chancellor at 11 Downing Street, including ePetitions collected on this website (see photo).

Now with a General Election looming, pensioners can judge the political parties, not just on their past actions, but on their promises too. Our pensions ready reckoner shows what the three main parties are offering.

Let down by Labour

It is not good enough for Labour to treat pensioners like second class citizens for the first three years of the parliament - and only offer a pensioners a better deal as a bribe when the election is due!

Official figures have revealed the real cost of Labour’s policy - pensioner poverty is getting worse - with over 400,000 more pensioners now living in poverty since Labour came to power in 1997.

William Hague’s 42p

Many pensioners are angry about the hypocrisy and hollow pensions promises made by William Hague's Tories.

The last Conservative Government left pensioners worse off. Now Mr Hague says he wants better pensions too, but then says he will pay for them by cutting pensioner’s free TV licences, cutting pensioner’s £200 winter fuel allowance, and even cutting their Christmas Bonus!

All that would leave a pensioner just an extra 42p better off under the Tories.

The Lib Dems’ better deal for Pensioners

The Liberal Democrats are determined to end pensioner poverty.

Charles Kennedy’s Lib Dems want to give all pensioners at least £5 a week over and above what the Government has offered, with an extra £10 for the over 75s and an extra £15 for the over 80s.

Judge for yourself what the three main parties are offering Britain’s pensioners with our pensions ready reckoner.