Cameron promotes "grey Britannia"

LONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) Conservative leader David Cameron called today for a cultural shift in the way the elderly are treated, saying they need to be ''airbrushed'' back into society.

The call came amid a growing realisation that the grey vote will be a key election battleground as the 11 million baby-boomers of the post World War Two era reach retirement age and the UK birth rate continues to drop.

It also follows Labour's recent introduction of laws which make it illegal for businesses to discriminate on the grounds of age.

In a speech at Age Concern in east London, Cameron accused society of often ignoring the elderly and said the older generation has a key role to play within the community and the economy.

The elderly are about to ''paint themselves back in'', he added.

The emphasis has changed from the early days of Tony Blair's tenure when the Prime Minister attempted to promote a ''cool Britannia'', courting pop stars and other celebrities in trying to portray a young and vibrant nation.

Cameron said: ''We need a quite profound cultural change -- in the way we think about older people. And a revolution in social responsibility -- in how we behave towards older people.'' He focused on the role national and local government can play as well as the NHS and social services, business and individuals.

He criticised the ''departure lounge'' mentality that exists in some residential care homes which help create ''grey ghettoes with rows of elderly people: isolated, unoccupied, just waiting to die''.

''It's a national tragedy,'' he said.

The Tory leader also blamed urban planning for tucking away the elderly out of sight and out of mind. He called for a greater mixture of ages living in a community.

One answer to isolation, he said, could be for older people with large, empty houses, to homeshare with young, homeless families. The older person provides the accommodation, and the young people perform household chores.

''It's a perfect example of social responsibility, of the generations coming together,'' Cameron added.

He also called for a more gradual retirement process.

''You work at full pelt right up to the wire -- then you stop altogether. It doesn't make sense any more,'' he said.

''We need to see retirement as a process, not an event -- a slope, not a cliff -- then we will realise the potential of older people.'' REUTERS AB RAI2107