Gordon Brown stole my old age

For probably the first time ever the Conservative Party held a fringe event at the Labour Party's conference today, to discuss Brown’s deception over pensions.  About two hundred people squeezed into the Belvedere Hotel in Bournemouth to hear Shadow Work & Pensions Secretary Chris Grayling and others highlight the double standards in Brown bailing out Northern Rock (and therefore all banks in the future) for political reasons but not paying people back for their lost pensions. The difference between the two is that customers of Northern Rock knew the risks whilst it was the government's fault that so many people lost their pensions, as the Parliamentary Ombudsman, Public Administration Select Committee, European Court of Justice and High Court Judicial Review have all confirmed.

Grayling talked about the Conservative Party’s efforts to get its lifeboat proposals through Parliament. Designed to make it as easy as possible for Brown to accept, they could have been implemented immediately with the Government merely underwriting the process of bringing everyone up to the levels provided by the Pension Protection Fund, and not paying anything extra in the long run. Instead of taking the opportunity to approve the well thought through legislation, Brown used the 1911 Parliament Act to stop going back to the Lords and thereby prolonging the misery of many pensioners. A member of the audience later asked why on earth he did this, “intransigence” was the simple conclusion of panelist and former Government pensions adviser Dr Ros Altmann.

Altmann then explained Brown’s cynical spinning of what was “without doubt, the worst pensions scandal ever seen in the UK”. In May he promised to pay 80% of the pensions back to the 125,000 people affected, costing £8bn.  What has actually happened since then is that the government have invented something called a “core pension” that doesn’t account for inflation, tax-free lump sums, many widow’s benefits and other dependent benefits, ill health and early retirement benefits, or pension starting ages. The Government then works out 80% of what’s left and takes 22% tax off it. Brown’s Financial Assistance Scheme - which had been entirely “designed to fool the public” - has only paid out £4m since 2004, partially helping just 2000 people.

The meeting also heard from steelworker Andrew Parr who had a typical experience with his pension fund. Forced to contribute to it since 1982 he had always been assured by government agencies that it was completely safe. When his company went into receivership he lost a lot of his “guaranteed” pension and has had to work an extra three years whilst suffering from a long-term heart condition and not receiving any money from the FSA. Like so many people, some of whom have since committed suicide, he had no idea that there was any risk to his pension. Alistair Darling, however, was told about the risks in 1999 but the government continued to encourage people to join the pensions funds.

After the meeting hundreds of pension activists, joined by Grayling and Tobias Ellwood MP (pictured), protested outside the BIC conference centre with banners, placards and yellow t-shirts with Brown’s face below the words “This man stole our old age!”. Surrounded by almost as many police, they chanted things like “Call the police, we’ve been robbed!”, “Gordon Brown, is a clown” and “Whadda we want? Pensions! When d’we wannem? Now!”.

The assembled throng then headed to the beach for a nude photo shoot, for the fifth Labour conference in a row. A number of elderly people, almost all men, used a banner saying "Northern Rock Saved, Pension Lifeboat Sunk!" and placards saying "No 'Core' Pension for me.. Mine's a Whoppa!" to cover themselves. It wasn’t quite as explicit as previous years but the swimming shorts with fake bums caused much amusement and press attention.

Then Neil Kinnock, fresh from his Old Labour style rallying cry, walked to where the protestors where on the beach - he really should have learned to stay away from beaches. Cameras immediately switched their focus to him as the press wrestled to get good shots of him being mobbed by semi-naked pensioners. He mumbled things about the government doing a lot for pensioners as he desperately tried to inch his way out of the crowd. I must have heard at least a dozen people make the remark “it’s okay for him, his pension’s alright!”.

I imagine Brown's got a tidy little retirement fund too, but these pensioners - and the Conservative Party - aren't going to let him forget that he's done a good job of ruining everyone else's.

Deputy Editor

Comments

[Cllr Robin Millar]

Good piece, Sam. Pensions are a real "beachhead" for Conservatives on Labour's shores.

[Mark Fulford]

IMO, the most entertaining piece on CH for a long time. Thank you.

[frustrated tory]

Thank God for Chris Grayling. At least one senior Tory is up for a fight against the increasingly repulsive Brown and his clan.

[a-tracy]

We’ve had the endowment failures; the pension failures of the past decade; and now the concern around the safety of your deposit account savings; the punishment for saving by removing pension benefits and the increasing risk from the merging of tax and NI causing higher taxation on your pension when you finally get around to drawing it (who's to say the tax rate won't be 40% or more in the future) these all add to the feelings of lack of security for the private sector workforce.

We've all seen and felt for those poor pensioners on the beach naked with banners trying to stress how even though prudently saving through their career they were ripped off and no-one helped them. The Brown years on pensions for me started when the funds were damaged by tax, the actuaries then said they had a deficit, the advisors told the funds to buy government bonds which performed less well than property or equities so the funds had an even bigger deficit and our pension return projections nearly halved.

Next they want us to trust them with compulsory pension savings schemes, where will these be invested and what will be our safety net?

[michael mcgough]

Chris Grayling appears to do a much better job of being in opposition than most of his peers.Was Kinnock crying?

[Yogi]

For the first time in weeks there is some good news. Brown is proving to be more adept at spin than even that repulsive Blair.
Cameron and co must remove their gloves next week and spell out policies while also explaining all the voodoo economics and spending plans spewed out by Brown.

[Iain]

"Thank God for Chris Grayling. At least one senior Tory is up for a fight against the increasingly repulsive Brown and his clan."

Having been extremely critical of the Shadow Cabinet for their disappearance from the political scene, I should like to add my thanks to Grayling as well.

I hope the rest of the Shadow Cabinet are taking note on how to do it!

[Patriot]

Now that's good news. Let's hope the media give it the exposure it deserves.

Nicely done. More of the same please.

[Man in a Shed]

Fantastic ! As Labour establish a dictatorship in its own party - we should be there arguing with Labour members to join us in the free world.

[Andrew Woodman]

Of all people to tuen up, Kinnock with his multiple pensions. Couldn't make it up. Well done Chris Grayling.

[John Leonard]

Editor:

New Poll by Yougov for Channel 4

Lab:44%
Con:33%
LD:13%

[Rob]

Lib Dems at 13%!? Their conference gave them the very opposite of a bounce then. Single figures soon perhaps?

[Editor]

Thanks John. A new thread has just begun on that poll.

[John Leonard]

Yougov Poll for Channel 4

Here's the link. Apparently it has been taken since GB's speech.

[sjm]

On the Despatches prog on C4 last night, Roz Altmann pointed out that (I hope I have this right) no-one may have a pension pot of more than £1 1/4 million in a liftime EXCEPT the Prime Minister and a couple of other MPs - so they're OK then.