After Ming’s disastrous performance at PMQs today there was a question from David Clelland (Lab). It was a long list of “Labour achievements” and asked what else had Labour had done for us in the style of Monty Python. Tony Blair answered, after a long pause, ‘double maternity pay and double maternity leave, there is also the extra child benefit as well, and there is of course the case that we have spent more on pensioners and that we have re-linked the basic state pension with earnings. That and many, many other things.’
Labour have done nothing of the sort. It is Conservative policy to re-link the basic state penion with earnings? Surely this counts as misleading Parliament and warrants an apology from the Great Helmsman?
3 comments:
According to Hansard he said: "There is, of course, the case that we have spent more on pensioners than we would have done if we had relinked the basic state pension with earnings, and many other things." which isn't quite the same thing.
They certainly haven't linked pensions with earnings - in fact, Gordon Brown has constantly refused to do anything of the kind.
What they have now done (in the last week, wonder why it suddenly popped into Blair's head?) is said they will THINK about linking pensions and earnings - not quite the same thing.
And if it is re-linked, don't fall for the bogus history that it was Maggie wot broke the link. It was broken under Callaghan.
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