Tuesday 17 April 2007

Brown facing no-confidence debate

The Conservatives are set to call for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Gordon Brown over his 1997 decision to scrap tax relief on pension funds.

Tuesday 3 April 2007

Brown defends pensions decision

BBC NEWS | Politics | Brown defends pensions decision

Mr Brown said the change, which raised £5bn a year from pension funds, had been a key one to ensure the UK economy had been strong for the past decade.

So pensions savings were sacrificed to ensure a strong economy? Can this be right? Am I going mad?

Monday 2 April 2007

Row grows over Brown's 'pensions raid' |

Row grows over Brown's 'pensions raid'. Claims that Mr Brown wanted, before his 1997 budget, to raise £8bn every year but was forced to settle for £5bn.

So that's only £50 billion out of pension funds so far...and counting.

That Pension Raid

Had the chancellor, back in his 1997 Budget, given a straight and open explanation of the extent of the tax rise, the risks attached to it, the advice he had about how much more we would need to put into pensions, about how small the positive effect on investment would be... then the delayed anger now erupting might have been rather diminished.

Tories call for pensions inquiry

The Conservatives said Gordon Brown had shown contempt for pensioners.