Cynical Tories use recent storms to hide their despicable plan to privatise the state pension

Storms battering Britain have exposed ministerial incompetence on a grand scale.

But Typhoon Cameron has also come to the Government’s rescue.

While public attention focuses on the floods, a trickle of nasty news oozes virtually unnoticed out of Whitehall.

According to leaked Department of Work and Pensions documents, Iain Duncan Smith is planning to privatise the state pension.

This staggering proposal would put in jeopardy the economic lifeline of millions of elderly people.

Only a Tory-led government motivated by political dogma could even think of doing such a thing.

But that’s precisely what they are doing.

In the Thatcher-Major years, the coal industry was dubbed “the last ­privatisation” because the miners would fight. They did – and look what happened to them.

Is the same frightening prospect in store for pensioners?

Baldilocks IDS and his hard-line ­sidekicks are considering a series of “strategic shifts” by Work and Pensions, including a review of the “current delivery model”.

Experts fear that pension provision will be handed over to one of the big privateers – G4S, Serco or Capita – who have billions worth of public-service contracts but a questionable track record.

They may bid to provide pensions more cheaply. But that usually means a worse service. And it would certainly be at the expense of the jobs, wages and conditions of 7,000 workers in 10 DWP centres, including Dundee, Newcastle, Blackpool and Swansea – all areas of
high unemployment.

The privateers would also want to make big profits from taking over the state pension, so any savings would be short-lived and costs would almost certainly rise. And who would pay for that?

Old folk, of course.

DWP says it has no final plan for pension privatisation. The weasel word here is “final”. Flog it is on the agenda.

The Government is demanding a further £2billion cut in the DWP budget and these leaked documents say the “low-hanging fruit” – ie the easy ­economies – have already been made. Hence, thinking the unthinkable.

Nobody wants this sell-off – 93% of pensioners are satisfied or very satisfied with the service they get now. And Dame Anne Begg, Labour chair of the Commons Pensions Committee, insists: “It ain’t broke. It’s one of the success stories of the DWP.”

So why fix it? Because the Tory-led Government is austerity crazy and wants to reward its business pals with lucrative contracts, even if this means an uncertain future for the state pension.

Would this be the first stage in its eventual abolition? It makes you think.

“Money is no object,” David Cameron promises the flood victims. “We are a wealthy country.”

Not, however, if you’re a pensioner.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/cynical-tories-use-recent-storms-3143525

    

Time to get these vile RW scumbags out of office.

Wasn't it was Jo Moore, aide to Labour Transport Secretary Stephen Byers, who said of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre: "It is now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury"?

And wasn't it Labour Chancellor and later Prime Minister Gordon Brown who managed almost to destroy the private sector pension industry by imposing certain tax measures against the strong advice of his own Treasury team and the dire warnings of a "future catastrophy" by financial and pensions experts?

Apart from all that, Catweasel, nice try but pas de point.

Fred Moletrousers wrote:Wasn't it was Jo Moore, aide to Labour Transport Secretary  Stephen Byers, who said of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre: "It is now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury"?

And wasn't it Labour Chancellor and later Prime Minister Gordon Brown who managed almost to destroy the private sector pension industry by imposing certain tax measures against the strong advice of his own Treasury team and the dire warnings of a "future catastrophy" by financial and pensions experts?

Apart from all that, Catweasel, nice try but pas de point.

......And that load of old drivel had absolutely nothing to do with the OP, and the vile RW scumbags plans to privatise the state pension.