THE Prime Minister's father-in-law is planning to take a trip to Teesside to talk to a newly- formed pensioners' group.

Last week saw the first meeting of a new branch of the National Pensioners' Convention, covering Redcar, Saltburn, Marske and east Cleveland.

Organiser Mike Findlay hailed the meeting a success, and thinks the group will go from strength to strength.

Earlier this week, he joined a rally in London to hand in a petition to Buckingham Palace, calling for a better deal for pensioners in light of Chancellor Gordon Brown's pre-budget statement.

He said he spent a lot of the day talking to actor Tony Booth, the father of Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife Cherie.

Mr Booth expressed an interest in the new group and said he would be happy to come and talk to members, hopefully in March.

Mr Findlay is planning a couple of other events and hopes to announce details in the next couple of weeks.

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