TONY Blair wants Britain to be a "young country", and in many ways it is. Society lionises youth. Entertainment, fashion, the jobs market - all are geared towards young people.

That is despite the fact that our population is gradually ageing. Thanks to better diets, improved medicine and a healthier lifestyle we are living longer. At the same time families are waiting to have children and then having fewer of them.

It is this chasm between society's obsession with youth and the reality of an ageing Britain that Lawrie Quinn seeks to narrow with his Private Member's Bill. Discrimination against the older person is rife, the Scarborough and Whitby MP says. In almost every aspect of life the over-50s are likely to face unfair treatment.

That assertion will chime with many of our readers. We have carried disturbing reports from older patients who believe they have been denied proper medical treatment because of their age. And evidence of the bias of employers towards younger job seekers is irrefutable.

All this amounts to a terrible missed opportunity. Many people in their 40s and 50s are in their prime, yet some employers seem to consider them on the slippery slope to decrepitude. By discriminating against older people they are forfeiting a wealth of talent and knowledge.

There are minor signs of a shift in thinking. DIY chain B&Q has an active policy of taking on over-50s and is delighted with the results. The company realises the key to any successful enterprise is a combination of youthful vision and the wisdom of experience. Meanwhile, the Government has extended its New Deal employment scheme to the same age group.

Of course job-seeking older people themselves must always be willing to learn new skills as their part of the bargain.

Mr Quinn's Bill would set up an Age Equality Commission to tackle discrimination. It is destined to fall at the first Parliamentary hurdle. What a pity when it is an imaginative approach to the problem, one which seeks to change attitudes rather than tie up firms in more politically correct red tape.