When people have worked hard and done the right thing, we should surely expect our Government to recognise their contribution to society.

 

Yet some of the most hard-pressed people in our society are pensioners.  Many rely on private and occupational pensions, which they have contributed to throughout their working lives, to keep them secure in their old age.  But Gordon Brown’s decision 10 years ago to scrap tax relief on pensions is one of the reasons that so many pensioners have seen their pensions fall far short of what was expected, resulting in stress, worry and financial hardship.

 

It has now come to light that the Chancellor was advised in 1997 that abolishing pension tax relief would make a big hole in pension finances, and forecasts now suggest this shortfall could be as much as £75 billion!  But in a decision, which uncovered his lack of concern for British pensioners, the Chancellor decided to go ahead with his plans anyway.  So I can fully understand when people say he has been behaving like a confidence trickster by perpetrating a sneaky and complex financial fraud on us.

 

The Chancellor tells us that his decision made the economy stronger and a Treasury spokesman has tried to blame raised life expectancy for the shortfall in pensions.  This, however, is a difficult line to sell to pensioners who are struggling through their retirement due to the Chancellor’s mean trick.