The Tories launched their pensioner manifesto yesterday pledging higher pensions and promising to alter tax allowances to take a million retired people out of tax.

"We never forget in this party how much we owe to our older generation," Michael Portillo said at the launch

The Tories plans include ending the practice of the compulsory requirement for pensioners over 75 to buy an annuity and ending age rationing in the NHS.

Portillo also pledged to improve transport provisions saying his party's plans to cut fuel taxes would benefit pensioners who view their car as a lifeline. "It is not a luxury, it is a necessity for their independence," he said.