Englander 1

English Democrats campaign against the Pension cuts and launch Downing Street petition

On Monday 22 October 2007 the Minster for Pension Reform, Mike O’Brien, published some of the most appalling plans to hit private sector pensions yet seen from this Labour Government since Gordon Brown acting as Chancellor in his first budget abolished the tax credit for dividends received by pension schemes.

The background to these changes is as follows:

1. Millions of workers who switch jobs before retirement age could have their pensions cut by as much as 25 per cent by the time they turn 65 if inflation stays at the present rate, under this government measure.

2. Such workers have had their final salary pensions adjusted for inflation up to a cap of 5 per cent annually for 20 years, but Mike O’Brien, minister for pensions reform, has decided to cut this to 2.5 per cent, well below the 3.9 per cent inflation rate.

3. According to Standard Life, one of the UK’s biggest pension providers, this means workers in their mid-40s who switched companies while inflation stayed at 4 per cent would lose 25 per cent of expected benefits by the time they turned 65.

4. Chris Lewin, pension actuary and one of the authors of the July report, said the panel thought the measure unfair because salaries typically rose more quickly than inflation. That meant people who switched jobs frequently would be disadvantage compared with those who held jobs for life. “We felt the present cap of 5 per cent preserves the balance of interest between stayers and leavers,” he said.

5. The Trades Union Congress said the move was “a pretty cynical calculation that widespread ignorance of how pensions work will protect the government against what should be an angry backlash”.

6. About 5m employees have pension rights they have left behind after changing jobs. The measure, which will require legislation, would affect only pension rights earned after new laws took effect. Mr O’Brien sought to defend these unfair measures by saying that the government wanted to help employers cut pension costs while ensuring employees still got “a good enough deal”.

Robin Tilbrook, the Chairman of the English Democrats, said:

“We all know that this tired Labour government has done so much to damage the UK’s occupational pensions. People need certainty and stability for their pension planning. Instead this government seems to come up with new pension cuts all the time, and typically like this measure, one which really damages the long term pensions of so many hardworking people.


“The English Democrats ask the working people of England to join with them and fight the pension cuts”.


Andrew Constantine, who is the first named English Democrats’ candidate for next year’s London Assembly Elections and who is a Chartered Accountant was one of the first to spot the appalling consequences for employees of final salary pension schemes. He quickly launched an e-petition on the No. 10 Downing street site, and has asked all English citizens to sign the petition using this hyperlink


Petition to: reverse his government's recently announced measure to reduce the pensions inflation cap from its present 5% to 2.5% in respect of final salary pension schemes so as to avoid the appalling financial consquences that will arise for millio


Andrew Constantine’s petition reads:

“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to reverse his government's recently announced measure to reduce the pension inflation cap from its present 5% to 2.5% in respect of final
salary pension schemes so as to avoid the appalling financial consequences that will arise for millions of our workers switching jobs before retirement who will now face a 25% pensions cut.”


Andrew said that “Garry Bushell, the English Democrats’ mayoral candidate for London, and he would work together to run a campaign against the Labour pension cuts and that he hoped the people of London, who need all their full pension entitlement to face retirement living in expensive London, would be with the English Democrats campaign all the way”. Andrew Constantine continued by saying that “if enough people supported the English Democrats’ “Save our Pensions” campaign, he was hopeful of having the cuts cancelled.“