West Dunbartonshire’s MP Martin Docherty-Hughes has accused UK Ministers of ‘rank hypocrisy’ on the government’s claims it’s helping people aged 50 and over into employment.
Local MP Martin challenged UK Employment Minister Guy Opperman in parliament over job losses in West Dunbartonshire following the closure of DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) offices based in Clydebank.
More than 200 jobs have been lost to the area due to the Westminster government’s decision to close back-of-house DWP offices at Clydebank’s Radnor House. It is part of a wave of DWP office closures resulting in 668 redundancies across the country, including three sites in Scotland.
MP for West Dunbartonshire Docherty-Hughes hit out at the UK government over concerns that the DWP job losses disproportionately impact working-class women over the age of 50.
Commenting, Martin Docherty-Hughes MP said:
“It’s rank hypocrisy for the UK government to claim it wants to help over-50s into work when they’re closing DWP offices in Clydebank and other deprived parts of Scotland.
“I’ve spoken with workers impacted by these closures and it is predominantly working-class women over the age of 50 worried about losing their jobs.
“To remove these jobs from West Dunbartonshire and leave people struggling for work during a cost-of-living crisis is deplorable,
“As ever, this Westminster government couldn’t care less about the impact of their decisions on disadvantaged communities like ours. My constituents deserve so much better.”
