Liberal Democrat Pensions Minister Steve Webb visited Bath on Sunday to talk to residents about how pension changes made by this Government effect them.
Prospective MP, Steve Bradley, was responsible for inviting the Minister to the city and introducing him to older constituents.
Steve Bradley said: ‘It was a great to see people engaging with national politics on such a personal level. When it’s something as tangible and important as pensions, it doesn’t surprise me that lots of people were interested and had questions.”
The Government’s pension reforms, which the Liberal Democrats have played an integral part in, have led to the biggest rise in the state pension for almost 30 years.
Steve Webb commented: “I really enjoyed speaking to residents of this fantastic city about the pension reforms. This Government has made some big changes to how pensions work and delivered a fair deal for today’s pensioners, while protecting tomorrow’s pensioners too by making it easier for people to save for retirement.”
9 million people have been guaranteed an automatic workplace pension that both Government and employers pay into, giving workers the confidence to save.
Overall, the state pension has risen by £800 a year compared to 2010, and the Lib Dems have introduced a “triple lock”, which ensures the state pension always rise with inflation, earnings or 2.5% – whichever is highest.
Steve Bradley concluded: “One questioner was concerned that the triple lock could be removed by the next Government – and it is a fair concern.
“Liberal Democrats in the next parliament would ensure that the triple lock stays in place, to protect pensions for the future.”
4 Comments
Ivor Needtosay
Thursday 19th February, 2015 at 02:21The residents of Bath have listened to Steve Webb on many occasions, but have they believed him? This man who has a history of U turns, misleads, smoke & mirrors – he knows all the tricks, and can deliver them with a straight face.
He said in the Bristol post last April that the hallmark of a successful campaigner is that they won’t give up, and that when it comes down to it perseverance pays!
I along with hundreds of thousands of others have persevered, and suffered the pain of a frozen pension which Steve Webb promised to scrap.
He has said so much about the discrimination, the unfairness, the irrationality of this policy that it could fill volumes. The other contributors to this article no doubt feel the same way looking at their judgement of him. But of course he’s an MP and if he looks after his own with this promise or that – he’ll get voted in again.
But that’s the question isn’t it – based on his record of double-talk and misleading statements, I wouldn’t trust Mr Webb as far as I could throw him. You, the voters in Bath, need to see him as we see him too, and ask yourselves – can we trust him?
I can tell you the answer to that – it’s NO!
Morgeo
Wednesday 18th February, 2015 at 21:44Assuming that the 550,000 frozen pensioners that Andy Robertson-Fox has mentioned were all on the full pension in retirement which most are, then the Minister can take pleasure in knowing that he has stolen £440 Million from them since 2010 by denying them their rightful ,paid for, pension uprating. .
This is not something that I would be boasting about if in his shoes and to further condemn future pensioners emigrating to the areas, where the Government choose to stop their pension indexation, they are looking poverty in the face after a number of years if reliant on their state pension which would mean returning to the UK or moving to another country where they would not be penalised. So joining their family who have moved to a frozen country becomes a big problem. Go and eventually rely on family for support or stay in the UK and get their full pension entitlement plus the benefits available but not see their family ?
A choice that should not be necessary if the politicians were to adhere to their code of conduct by not discriminating and would also mean keeping their word in respect to the Commonwealth Charter which also says “We are implacably opposed to discrimination of any kind”.
But then, these are just meaningless words to a politician, and if it were them that were being treated this way it would have been rectified yesterday !
Andy Robertson-Fox
Wednesday 18th February, 2015 at 21:09Mr. Webb says, “This government has made some big changes as to how pensions work and delivered a fair deal for today’s pensioner while protecting tomorrow’s pensioners too……”
Really Minister, do you call the denial of index linking to some UK pensioners – the frozen pensioners – simply because, for example, they live one side of the Canadian/USA border and not the other and when they have met the NI contributions during their working life llke everybody else “a falr deal”?
Do consider in incorprating that iniquitous policy as Clause 20 in the Pension Act 2014 so that all future emigrants to frozen countries also get no increases ever, to be “protecting tomorrow’s pensioners”?
Your party leader and now deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, once said ” I can assure you that the Liberal Democrats firmly believe that pensioners who have paid taxes and contributed to National Insurance should not be penalised for choosing to live abroad.”
A fair deal, Mr Webb? About 550,000 frozen pens?oners don’t think discrimination is fair, even if you do.
protempore
Wednesday 18th February, 2015 at 20:07Did anyone ask him why he had abandoned the frozen 4% whose state pension is frozen just because of where they live and why he has made sure this scandal continues by including it in the new pensions bill? This man was vociferous about this injustice whilst he was in the opposition and yet he has done nothing to right this wrong now he is in a position to do so.