Pensioners urged to have their say when Neil Parish attends an open meeting held by Honiton Voice today.

Pensioners in Honiton are being urged not to become a ‘forgotten generation’ and make their voices heard when local MP Neil Parish comes to town.

The Tiverton and Honiton MP will be receiving a grilling when he attends an open meeting being held by the Senior Council for Honiton, which is also known as Honiton Voice, at the Methodist Church Hall today (Friday).

Tony Smith, a committee member of Honiton Voice, said: “I am one Honiton Voice committee member who will ask Mr Parish how he will vote should in some distant day, after the next election, if the Prime Minister does an about-turn on his current line that these benefits are to stay in place ‘indefinitely’. Will we lose free bus passes?

“I’m sure he knows around 50 per cent of his constituents in Honiton, Tiverton and countless small towns and villages are pensioners. Did that even cross his mind when the coalition voted for the budget which announced -- or should I say slide under the door near the end of a long and complicated afternoon session at Westminster.”

He adds: “The phrase in today’s economic situation is ‘everyone must make a sacrifice’. But everyone over 70 already made a ‘sacrifice’ in the 1940s and 1950s -seeing dads going off to war, becoming evacuees to escape the blitz and then helping rebuild Britain as teenagers or young adults.”

Doors open from 3.30pm and Mr Parish will be speaking from 4pm.