Portsmouth Lib Dem condemns treatment of female campaign group supporters

Discussion over changes to the state pension age for women was dismissed and referred to another committee last week.

Shelagh Simmons, a supporter of Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign, had waited hours for the debate to be heard and said she was ‘left in tears’ after being ordered to leave for speaking up about the Tory administration’s decision to not allow it.

Portsmouth Lib Dem leader, Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, has now spoken of his disgust at the way the situation was handled. He said: ‘It was incredibly rude. Members of the public had been waiting for over four hours to listen to a debate. Yet the administration knew at the beginning of the meeting they weren’t going to even have the debate.’

Tory leader Donna Jones has said the item was deferred as it wasn’t ‘a local issue’.