Mid Sussex MP, Nicholas Soames, has launched a strong attack on the Labour Government to coincide with National Pensions Day on the 18th March.

Mr Soames said; “The Government has got a cheek to respond as they have done to the very strong criticism of the Parliamentary Ombudsman over their handling of certain final salary occupational pension schemes which have wound-up without sufficient funds.

“I know from my own mailbag that many Mid Sussex people have serious problems over their pensions because of decisions taken by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown MP, and the then Pensions Minister, Alistair Darling MP.

“Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer, took all the big decisions on pensions. He has wrecked the system of private pensions. He has wrecked the system of public pensions. He has destroyed the system of savings. He has taxed pensions by deliberate stealth. He has impoverished generations of older people, past, present and to come. The Chancellor’s pension policy has been one of the great scandals of British financial history. He should be ever held responsible.”

Continuing his trenchant criticism Nicholas Soames said. “For a pensioner in Mid Sussex a third of the increase in the basic state pension has been taken up in higher council tax for a typical pensioner. Yet the Government have cancelled this year the £200 payment for pensioners to help with their council tax bills. The payment was only for last year’s general election. The Government should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves and I shall be raising this matter on the floor of the House of Commons during the budget debate next week.

“We need a better deal for today’s pensioners and tomorrow’s. People in Mid Sussex still in work are losing out from Gordon Brown’s £5 billion a year pensions tax and the closure of final salary schemes and many company schemes. We must also ensure fairness for those who have already lost pension savings, and for those facing retirement on a pension is a fraction of what they expected.

“Meanwhile, those who have retired are suffering from complex and degrading means-testing, combined with soaring council tax and utility bills. The right test for any new pensions policy is how it helps the most disadvantaged in society. We will stand up for the victims of state failure and ensure that social justice and equal opportunity are achieved.”

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NOTES

Report by Ann Abraham, Parliamentary Ombudsman, “Trusting in the pensions promise: government bodies and the security of final salary occupational pensions”. Published 15th March 2006