Standing up for older people in Blackpool

In recent weeks I’ve visited Harrowside House and Pennystone Court, two not-for-profit Blackpool care homes, to sit down with residents, answer their questions and listen to their stories. What I heard was simple but powerful – people want dignity, security and a strong sense of community as they get older.

Harrowside House is run by the not-for-profit Abbeyfield Living Society (ALS), which provides sheltered housing, care homes and independent living schemes for older people across the country. Residents told me how much they value having their own space, while also being able to eat together, laugh together and support each other. Staff spoke about the importance of helping people stay independent for as long as possible, with daily chores taken care of and activities that keep people active and connected. Harrowside House is more than a roof over residents’ heads. It’s a community.

Cillian enjoyed entertaining the residents of Harrowside House on our visit

Pennystone Court is also rooted in charity. It’s run by MHA, one of the UK’s leading providers of care and support for older people. You can feel it in the positivity of the staff and the pride residents take in sharing stories of their lives in Blackpool. It’s not just about care. It’s about creating a home where people belong.

As a society we must look after our older people and as MP for Blackpool South, I will fight as hard for them as I do for our children to get the best start in life, and for our working-age adults to get the opportunities they deserve.

Staff and residents put their questions to me at Pennystone Court

I’ve stood up for pensioners in Parliament and in the community. I voted against my party’s proposed cuts to Winter Fuel Payments because I knew it was wrong and I’m pleased that the government listened to myself and colleagues and withdrew the plans. Following the vote I wrote to 13,500 pensioners across Blackpool and held surgeries in community centres to help people access the support they were owed. What we heard so many times, wasn’t that people couldn’t access benefits, but that they were too proud to. These people have paid into the system and deserve for the system to look after them now that they need it. My team, trained by Independent Age, made sure hundreds of people got what was rightfully theirs.

I’ve also taken surgeries to the streets so pensioners don’t need to travel. And when we do hold them indoors, we use venues people already know and trust. Politics must meet people where they are.

Meeting pensioners where they are – on one of my regular street surgeries

Labour is committed to making later life secure and fulfilling. That starts with protecting the triple lock on pensions so they rise every year in line with inflation, wages or 2.5% – whichever is highest. We are tackling fuel poverty by insulating homes and cutting energy bills, because no pensioner should sit in the cold. We will strengthen the NHS to reduce waiting times and we will fix social care by giving it proper funding and valuing the staff who deliver it.

We also know loneliness is a silent killer. That’s why Labour will support community programmes that bring people together. Getting older should never mean being forgotten about.

Blackpool has a significant and growing older population and we need dedicated services and support for them. If we get this right, we improve lives here and set an example for the rest of Britain. My visits to Harrowside House and Pennystone Court showed me what’s possible when older people are treated with respect, supported properly and given the chance to live full lives.

That’s the future Labour will fight for. Later life should be about living well, not just getting by.