Which party has pensioners' best interests at heart?

04/01/2010

Is the Government doing its level best for Pensioners at this time? 

The answer is definitely NO.

 

Cast your mind back to the Labour Party promises to the public to do away with Means Testing.

 

Will any other Political Party do better in these troubled times well the answer to this question in the first instance must be to what level of integrity could any Political Party achieve?

 

Blair and Brown are nothing more than deceitful political individuals who will do and say anything for their own self interests and their shabby Political Party. Who will say the others will be any better.

 

To my mind let us question the 121 Members of Parliament who will not seek re-election. Well perhaps they were not the right people anyway, for they have been found wanting in the way they have operated as MPs. 

Having gone, they should not be replaced, for so many people believe MPs should be reduced in numbers to a maximum of 150 to 200 at the most and their duties clearly laid down and we the taxpayers recognize a new constitution that allows us to impeach anyone found wanting which includes the Prime Minister most of all.

 

The way these two have behaved (Blair and Brown) is outrageous and considering all things Blair should have sacked Brown before he had chance to ruin the country and all our Pension Funds, not so long ago the envy of Europe, instead he played Brown for a sucker and set him up to become an unelected leader of the Country and destroy us.

 

Now Mr. Blair tours the world and since leaving office has gone from being unable to pay his mortgage to a personal pot of £16 million if The Daily Telegraph is correct and we the taxpayers pay £6 million for his personal army to protect him as well as millions of pounds to protect Brown from what I would like to know, families of soldiers killed in their personal war?

 

So what has this to do with the question? well the answer is the actions of this Government be it the cost of the Blair/Bush war, funding their expenses, paying winter fuel allowance to people living in sunny climates, paying benefits to people in Poland not English, paying outrageous benefits to a section of society who have never paid anything living off Pensioners as well as everyone else.

 

By what right do these politicians think they can spend our money this way or indeed take hard earned money the way they do? Remember Browns raid of £40 Billion on the Pension Funds and a year on year grab of £5 billion ever since.

 

Do you remember Brown sold 50% of our Gold reserve for next to nothing?

 

Do you remember to herald the millennium they stopped Married Couples Allowances overnight with no phased indication.

 

Do you remember how this Government tried to steel the SERPS husband’s allowance when the husband died only they came unstuck through public outcry and then had to re-phase it in?

 

The same should have applied to the Married Persons Allowance. My wife and I lost our entitlement by 4 months with no prior warning whatsoever.

 

And now we have another raid on Pensioners entitlement that is the full indexation of the pension increase next year. Does Minister for Pensions Angela Eagle know Pensioners paid higher rates of National Insurance Contributions which entitles them to Serps? She and the Government have NO RIGHT AT ALL to discriminate against individuals. 

 

The State Pension was paid for as in everyone else’s case and it should be recognized as such.

 

What on earth Ms Eagles is getting at talking about preventing unfairness between Serps and Company Pension Schemes. The only unfairness here is the act she is trying to defend along with her pathetic mentor Bro Darling

 

Does Ms Eagle know we paid extra contributions towards the Graduated Retirement Pension?

 

Do Ministers appreciate that all this was compulsory set up by Politicians as Government and now they want to change it. The answer is NO you will not get away with it.

 

Do not think this is a one year hit? They will try to do it for ever in the future and they must be stopped dead in their tracks NOW.

 

New Labour’s so called budget day is a Joke and a charter for deception by after thought.

 

Eagles fly high, but she will not mind I am sure if we send Pensioners Forums to her constituency to campaign against her re-election when the time is right.

 

I started a Pensioners Forum four years ago and in 12 months had 1700 members. We tried to run along democratic lines Consultation not Confrontation with District and County Councils on aspects of Council Tax. What a waste of time, they Politicians, just do not want to know.

 

We are fully aware of the NPC National Pensioners Convention, having been affiliated members ever since our Forum was created and yes what Dot  Gibson NPC General Secretary says is true they, the Forums,’ must join together and fight, the time of nice reasoned talking will get them nowhere.

 

So how do we get the Forums to join together, well the answer is simple. People will flock to a winning team not of Talkers, but Doer’s so let the NPC Dot Gibson take the Government to the European Court of Human Rights on this Serps and Graduated Pension issue for we feel in Law we are entitled to full payment we paid for it since its inception.

 

Take a leaf from the French. When they have had enough they kick the Government into touch so lets do the same with ours.

 

And in conclusion if Angela Eagle wants to save money she should suggest to Brown that the Labour Party’s staff of 4000 Spin Doctors should be sacked saving £220 Million per year. There are almost 2000 working in press offices agencies, quangos, communications and so on.

 

There are reported to be another 700 Spin Doctors working in other government departments.

 

And so “IS THERE NO-ONE” WHO HAS TO GUTS to take the Government to the European Court for under handed actions of stealing rightful entitlement from pensioners who already have the worst pensions in Europe.

 

Will the 75% of UK decisions taken by the EU force the Government to pay a proper pension?

 

We shall see.

 

So who will Lead, Organise and Fight for the older Generation before we are all killed off? People like Ms Eagles bucking for promotion by her actions, Blair, Brown, and Darling as are the rest of them all set up with golden Parachute Pensions awarding themselves annual pay increases paid for by the taxpayers and when attempts are made to reform the way they operate, they appoint someone to oversee recommendations and they promptly take no notice.

 

Politicians now talk of regaining credibility with the electorate, well not in my lifetime. They have in my view gone too far, they have destroyed the fabric of our society and taken liberties with the easy going English people for which they will never be forgiven.

 

Brian Allen

 

Former Founding Member and Chairman Rtd.

 

Taunton and Wellington Pensioners Forum

 

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