State Pension Age: Women

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Karen Lee

Thursday 31st January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Karen Lee (Lincoln) (Lab)]

As my hon. Friend knows, I was a nurse, and I am of the WASPI age too. A lot of the people I worked with had worked long and hard all their lives, as care assistants and housekeepers as well as nurses. They did not earn enough money to save anything. Now the goalposts have moved and they cannot retire, but they are too old to do that really hard, physical work. It is terrible—shameful. Yet we hear a lot of warm words about looking after our NHS staff.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Order. Let me give a little bit of advice to the hon. Lady. She turned her back on the Chair, and that means that she cannot be properly heard; and she cannot go on speaking when she has sat down again. It is not a silly, old-fashioned rule—it just works better if everybody looks the right way and stands up to speak. It is simple.

Representation of the People (Young People’s Enfranchisement) Bill

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Karen Lee

2nd reading: House of Commons
Friday 11th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Karen Lee (Lincoln) (Lab)]

In the recent elections, the turnout was pretty abysmal—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Mrs Eleanor Laing)]

Order. If the hon. Lady faces the Chair, she will be better heard, and I will know who she is so I can say her name.

[Karen Lee]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker; I am a new Member.

As is often the case, the turnout in the recent local elections was abysmally low. Does my hon. Friend agree that if younger people could vote, turnout might improve and the result might be more representative of what the general population thinks about issues?