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Occupational Pensions

Now that the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has withdrawn from the Labour leadership race, Labour Members are queuing up to ask the Chancellor’s questions in our debates. I will come on to talk about what the hon. Lady and I can do to help those pensioners. Indeed, there is a vote tomorrow in which she can take part. I was talking about the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and can I say how pleased we are that Macavity has finally been dragged kicking and screaming out of hiding on the very day when homeowners and pensioners are coming to terms with the latest rise in inflation. Not long ago, the Chancellor was telling the Treasury Committee that he expected"““inflation to come down significantly over the course of the next few months.?" Today he received a letter from the Governor of the Bank of England explaining why it is rising. Well, the Chancellor never was much of a forecaster. Whether in terms of rising inflation, the record tax burden, the billions of pounds that we see being wasted on projects such as the NHS computer system, or that con-trick Budget—or, indeed, the pensions raid—this Chancellor’s boast of economic competence is unravelling before our eyes. [Interruption.] The first, and worst, of all his mistakes was that raid on pensions. When he stands up to respond, let us find out if he can look Britain’s pension holders in the eye and say ““sorry?. One Browne has already done that this week. [Interruption.] Let us see if another Brown has the courage to do so again today. The road to the Chancellor’s first and worst stealth tax began, strangely enough, in a hotel room, because the pension tax plans were dreamt up—[Interruption.]