About Tony Lynes
Tony Lynes worked in the field of social security and pensions for over 40 years. After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, he worked with Professor Richard Titmuss at the London School of Economics from 1958 to 1965, became the first full-time secretary of the Child Poverty Action Group in 1966, and was a social security adviser to Labour Secretaries of State from 1974 to 1979.
His past publications include books and pamphlets on pensions, the Penguin Guide to Supplementary Benefits, and a weekly column on benefits in New Society and the New Statesman. Until 1997 he assisted Labour shadow social security ministers and he claims to have drafted more (and better) amendments to social security bills than anyone else, alive or dead. In recent years he has been a pensions adviser to the National Pensioners Convention and has worked with pensioners' groups in Southwark (south-east London).
His other interests include music - in his "retirement" he runs the CYM Library (the music library of the Centre for Young Musicians), which lends sets of choral, orchestral and band music to schools and amateur music groups in all parts of the UK.
Delivered by Rachel Reeves MP on 31st October 2017 at William Booth College, Champion Park, London INTRODUCTION Good afternoon everyone. I am honoured to be here today to give the second Tony Lynes Memorial Lecture on the subject of loneliness. … Continue reading →
The first Annual Memorial Lecture in honour of Tony was held on 7th October 2015 at William Booth College, Denmark Hill. The speaker was Paul Flynn MP, on the topic of ‘Abolishing sin’. With thanks to Mayor Dora Dixon-Fyle for … Continue reading →
Tony sadly died after being hit by a car in Herne Hill on 12 October 2014. This site is maintained by his family. Professor Jonathan Bradshaw wrote an obituary in The Guardian on the 22nd October An article about Tony was … Continue reading →
An event celebrating his life was held on Thursday 23rd October, at the Conway Hall. A recording of the event can be found below:
Twenty-six people, including Southwark’s distinguished historian Stephen Humphrey and local pensioner activists Tony and Sally Lynes, attended a meeting held on 4th September 2013 to discuss the formation of a Local History group at Southwark Pensioners Centre in south-east London. … Continue reading →
Below you will find Tony Lynes’s comments, views and research findings on the following subjects: Music: public library charges illegal? (11.9.13) Single-tier pension – but not for today’s pensioners? (24.2.13) Child benefit – a better way of sharing the cost. … Continue reading →
Public library charges for lending printed music This article presents the results, up to September 2013, of ongoing research by Tony Lynes on behalf of Making Music. It summarises the legislation relating to local authorities’ duty to provide a music … Continue reading →
At present, people under pension age pay national insurance contributions which entitle them to two kinds of state pension – flat-rate and earnings-related. Those whose employers provide an earnings-related pension scheme can be “contracted out” of the state earnings-related pension, … Continue reading →
Figures given in reply to a Parliamentary Question on 15 November offer a much simpler and much fairer alternative to the Government’s widely criticised plan to withdraw child benefit from higher rate taxpayers. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, … Continue reading →
In the House of Commons on 3rd June, Andrew Percy, Tory MP for Brigg & Goole, asked John Hayes (Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation & Skills): “Does he agree that the success and value of adult education is … Continue reading →
