I realise I’ve probably come to this a little late, but after reading the story of the chap in Bristol who chained himself to a lamppost in order to stop the council from taking it away who said “Retired people like me are going to lead the revolution”, it now seems obvious that this really is going to be the case in the future.
Watch out old people!!
© Calamity Meg // CC
After all, people are living longer and birth rates are down, so we know that the population of pensioners is going to keep increasing while there are ever fewer employed people to sustain them. I think it’s fair to say that the UK sees political apathy on a massive scale, particularly amongst people under thirty, and with the two major parties so seemingly similar it only serves to drive up indifference. This means that we’ll have more than ever of what is normally considered the most politically motivated demographic (note: I can not find any statistics to back any of this up, the Electorial Commission seems to be lacking this kind of analysis) – and in particular those who have already retired will have the most time on their hands to wage whatever campaigns they see fit with no serious fear of reprisals (and it’s not as if they’ll have to take time off work).
Of course, there are some potential downsides:
- retirement age is going to go up
- cost of living will go up (a leverage point since the UK Government controls the state pension)
- old people can’t get about as much or as easily – hopefully terminator-style bionics will fix this
Anyway, sounds good to me, viva la revolution! Now, where did I put my glasses?