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Occupational Pensions

I am obliged, Mr. Deputy Speaker. We have heard many figures, but not all of them can be right. If someone sought to convict the Chancellor of the serious charge made in the motion, we would expect them to agree on what his so-called smash-and-grab raid has done, but no one in the House tonight has been able to agree on the figure. To carry on with my analogy, if this was an ordinary workaday court rather than Parliament, on the evidence that has been laid before us tonight a judge would have to withdraw the case from the jury, because there is not sufficient evidence that stands up to scrutiny to make a serious case of the sort that the Opposition wish to put forward. I said that I would turn to the politics of the matter, and I will. Why are we having this debate? That question has been asked by a number right hon. and hon. Members. We are having the debate on the back of research by The Times that was taken up by those of a Daily Mail tendency. The Opposition are being entirely bandwagon-like and opportunistic about the matter. It is not that they had an interest in the subject and so brought it forward; they are running with the subject on the back of that research. There is synthetic anger from Members on the Opposition Benches.