Victor Meldrew actor Richard Wilson backs Labour, calls Conservative dementia tax a 'complete disgrace'

'Those of us that get dementia and our families face care cost of more than £20,000 a year'

Richard Wilson (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Richard Wilson — famous for playing the character Victor Meldrew in BBC One sitcom One Foot in the Grave — has backed Labour and called the Conservative’s dementia tax a "complete disgrace”.

Writing for Labour in a letter directed to those in the South East of England, Wilson warns how the Tory manifesto would be disastrous for elderly people.

Talking about cutting the Winter Fuel Allowance and means testing free TV licences, Wilson says: “free bus pass could be next”.

The actor also points out how the Conservatives brought forward the state pension age faster than promised, with some women born before the 1950s working an extra two years.

The letter — picked up by The Mirror — reads: ”You might remember me as Victor Meldrew in the BBC's One Foot in the Grave and I am writing to you because the election on Thursday June 8 is going to be so important for people thinking about their retirement or who are already receiving the state pension.

"We have to choose between a Conservative MP who will rubber stamp Conservative policies that will hit older people hard or a Labour MP who will stand up for you and oppose these changes.

“The Conservatives whacked up the state pension age faster than promised, with some women born in the 1950s having to wait an extra two years to get the pensions they worked hard to pay for.

"Many were never told they'd have to work for longer, and they're not listening to those that have lost out.

"They promised to make pensioners better off but their manifesto sets out plans to make us all worse off by ending the 'triple lock' that guarantees state pension rises.

"They've committed to cutting Winter Fuel Allowance and will means test free TV licences too. The free bus pass could be next.

"The Conservatives have now said they will force you to sell your home to pay for social care if you need it in old age.

"Any value over £100,000 left in your estate after you die will be used to pay your care bills - and there's no limit on the amount they'll take off you and your family's inheritance.

"It is being called a 'dementia tax', because those of us that get dementia and our families face care cost of more than £20,000 a year. It is a complete disgrace that will rob thousands of their homes."

He adds: "The Conservatives think they can pull a fast one on us, but let's show them they can't take us for granted by voting against these plans on Thursday 8th June."