According to the Government's own figures 2 million pensioners live in poverty in our country. 25,000 died last winter as a result of cold related conditions. In a survey last year 4 out of 10 elderly people arriving at accident and emergency hospitals were found to be malnourished.
A major cause of this suffering is poverty. As Age Concern stated today "the pension is simply not enough to live on". This has largely been caused by Thatcher's policy of cutting the link between rises in earnings and pensions in 1980. Since then a pensioner has lost over £50 a week in pension.
After waging a ten year campaign, pensioners organisations, trade unions and Labour Party members at long last persuaded Gordon Brown to commit to restoring the link with earnings. However he has said that he would only restore the link in 2012 at the earliest based upon his judgement then of its "affordability and the fiscal position" and if necsessary only by 2015. The pensioners groups pointed out to him that 3 million pensioners will have died by then. They need help now!
Today in support of the National Pensioners Convention and many other pensioners campaigning groups I tabled amendments to the Government's Pensions Bill to restore the link with earnings and to increase the basic state pension to the level of the pension credit. The aim was to raise the basic pension and to lift people off means tested benefits. Already nearly 40% of pensioners do not claim the means tested benefits they are entitled to and these benefits are 10 times more expensive to administer.
By guillotining the Pensions Bill debate and having ministers talk at length on other issues the Government made sure that these amendments were not even debated and not voted on. So Gordon Brown got his way and an increase in pensions and the restoration of the earnings link were blocked.
It shouldn't be that after 10 years of a Labour government so many of our pensioners live in poverty. This is not acceptable in the fifth largest economy in the world and when last week it was revealed that the Chief Executives of the top 100 FTSE companies earn an average £6 million a year.
Today we could have helped a large number of our pensioners out of poverty.
New Labour stopped us.
8 Comments:
John it was a disgrace how they stitched up the vote. Purnell is horribly smug - completely puerile and snide when dealing with such a serious issue.
I was glad to see Kate Hoey and Lyn Jones back your policies - I hope they'll both be backing you
As well as this most worthy issue, it's also relevant to note the defeat of the amendment that would have provided assistance to the many people who have faced the collapse of their pension schemes. At some point, I'd love to hear you talking about the often cynical support of Tories and Lib Dems for such rightly popular public issues. The hypocritical opposition wishes to criticise the Government (though with justification) when they refuse to provide this bail-out, yet at the same time will immediately attack them if there were a financial deficit or a need to raise taxes. Blair is correct to point out that these things cost money but he is unfortunately abysmally in error when he chooses to assert that the price is not worth paying.
Well said anon - Blair and Brown find the money for corporation tax cuts, Trident, war on Iraq . . . But not for these pensioners.
If Labour was in opposition and the Tories doing this, we'd all be up in arms - sadly the roles may reverse soon enough.
We need a change - and John is it (or could at least be the catalyst)
Yet another stitch up by this Government. Decent pensions is a right for those that have paid into the system all there working lives.
There has been a number of things that have dismayed me this week about this Government. Pensions of course and the well constructed comments above hit the nail right on the head.
Secondly Des Browne's performance over the stories for cash fiasco and his feeble attempt to deflect the blame. Whatever happened to Ministerial Responsibility? He should have resigned and the House knows it. As he is 'GB's man he has been given a second life
Thirdly has David Milliband been leant on? For him to stand up the other day saying he would not stand and more or less endorsing GB worries me. Are GB's troops and the No 11 spin machine working behind the scenes to stitch up the leadership election before it has even started? If David M did stand and lost (hopefully to John McD, there is nothing to suggest depending on his politics that he could not have another stab at it in a number of years. William Hague is an example of this poor leader of the Tories resigned following the 2001 election. He has found the way back to the Tories front bench and again will be able to entertain us with his oratory skills across the despatch box.
Finally Ed Milliband was on question time last night. It is beginning to make my skin crawl the way they they put their careers before what they think is right for Britain and the party.
Again he fully endorsed GB more or less suggesting a leadership campaign was worthless.
When will one of these puppets of the No 11 spin machine finally have the backbone to stick there head over the parapet??
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