Southwark Pensioners Action Group (SPAG) is a group of older people in Southwark who work together to influence local and national decision-makers to improve services for older people. We have an active programme of meetings and events, raising awareness and campaigning on issues affecting the health and independence of older people.
SPAG was set up in 1980 to provide a platform for older people living and working in Southwark to influence local and national decision-makers. We meet monthly and regularly invite councillors, council officers and health professionals to our meetings. A campaign by our members in 2021 was successful in keeping Riverside Day Centre open for Southwark adults with learning disabilities. We lobby on pensions, winter fuel allowance, physical and mental health issues, social care, transport, housing and planning. We are active in supporting Southwark’s ambition to become age-friendl (part of the WHO Age Friendly Communities programme). Our work often involves petitioning and demonstrating at Westminster, both on our own campaigns and in support of others working towards social justice.
We are a self-organising group hosted by the Southwark Pensioners Centre. Their support has been invaluable in enabling us to be free to get on with our campaigning work, without being burdened with managing an organisation and all that goes with it. They also provide us with free meeting space and we have a regular feature in their newsletter.
SPAG has been able to sustain a proud history of activism Southwark on behalf of older people. The Rev. Herbert Stead led a campaign in Southwark for the introduction of an Old Age Pension and it achieved success in 1908 with the very first pensions of 5 shillings (bob) a week for people over 70. Jack Jones, TUC leader 1968-1980s and a Southwark resident, was active in SPAG and President of the National Pensioners’ Convention in his retirement.
We have been able to attract a diverse group of people with a wide range of experiences and the commitment to make a difference to their community. We work hard to develop strong networks within the borough and beyond. We are well respected as a ‘go-to’ organisation to hear the opinions and ideas of older people.
Our partnership with Southwark Pensioners Centre (SPC) has been key to our success, providing us with a home from which to operate and opening up different opportunities for networking and action. SPC has been successful in securing new premises which will open in 2026, providing us all with new and improved facilities from which to continue our work.
We have been successful in harnessing the skills and experience and on-going commitment of our members who have shown their determination to improve the quality of life of older people today and tomorrow. We are constantly seeking new members to join our work through networking, leafleting and word of mouth.
Our work is not about quick fixes. It is all about being persistent, consistent and imaginative in how we drive forward the changes that will benefit older people. It’s not for the faint-hearted and it’s important to note the successes along the way, however modest they may be.
