MPs want more of our cash for their pensions
GORDON Brown was last night shamed into a humiliating retreat over plans to squeeze yet more cash out of taxpayers to fund MPs’ lavish gold-plated pensions.
The House of Commons was prepared to vote today on Government proposals to increase the amount of public money pouring into the Parliamentary pension scheme.
Under the plans, the Treasury would have paid an extra £800,000 a year to help fill a £51million black hole in the scheme.
But as a wave of fury built up yesterday, the Prime Minister performed yet another U-turn.
Hours before today’s vote, Downing Street backed down and agreed to freeze the level of Treasury payments into the fund.
Critics were celebrating last night after the retreat from what had threatened to be the House of Commons’ most arrogant cash grab yet.
They said public anger had at last shamed MPs into surrender over their latest attempt to feather their own nests at the taxpayers’ expense.
Former independent sleaze-busting MP Martin Bell said: “Let the MPs contribute more, but asking the taxpayers to contribute more is completely wrong, at this or any other time.
"This idea was simply out of order in my view.”
Matthew Elliott, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Hard-pressed taxpayers should not have to pay a penny extra to the MPs’ pension fund, particularly when most people can’t afford pensions for themselves.
“The problem with the Parliamentary Pension is not that taxpayers do not subsidise it enough, but that it is far too generous a scheme.
“Gordon Brown is right to finally accept that not a penny extra of taxpayers’ money should go into MPs’ pensions.
"It was amazing that after the events of the last few weeks that MPs were even considering demanding more money. People are sick of enriching parliamentarians.”
Pensions expert Dr Ros Altmann, a former adviser to the Government, also welcomed the climbdown.
She said: “Anybody in touch with the public mood would surely have been able to recognise that this was not a sensible time to take more money from the taxpayer for MPs’ pensions.
"It is astonishing that this was even suggested.”
Lib Dem work and pensions spokesman Steve Webb said: “It is very welcome that the Government has accepted the amendment.
"With millions of people facing economic hardship, it would have been completely wrong to ask them to contribute more to MPs’ already very generous pensions.”
A revised shake up of MPs pensions will be debated in the Commons today. Instead of taking more taxpayers’ cash, MPs will vote on a reformed plan that involves hiking their own contributions.
"The new plan was put forward by the Liberal Democrats and backed by the Tories.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Government is happy to accept the amendment and consult further.”
