news story

25th June 2009

West MP Forces Downing Street Climbdown & Saves Taxpayer £3/4 Million on MP Pensions

Click here to read Steve Webb's speech in the Commons

Northavon MP Steve Webb has succeeded in forcing the Government to re-think its plans to increase the amount of money taxpayers put into the MPs' pension scheme. Later today (Thursday 25th), MPs were due to debate a motion by Harriet Harman that would require MPs to pay around £60 per month more into their pension but which would also have required extra contributions of around £750,000 a year from taxpayers.

On Tuesday, along with Frank Field MP and Vince Cable MP, Lib Dem pensions spokesman Steve Webb tabled an amendment to that motion calling for it to go further by freezing the money the taxpayer had to put in at its 2008/09 level. The motion gradually gathered support, first with the Conservatives saying they would back it and then with growing media interest. Under pressure, Downing Street last night (Wednesday 24th) issued a statement saying that they would accept the amendment and find ways of avoiding an increase in taxpayer contributions.

Steve Webb said:

"I am delighted that I have been able to force the Government to think again. At a time when people are losing their jobs and seeing their pension security diminishing all the time, it would have been quite wrong to ask taxpayers to put more money into the MPs' scheme.

"The Government's U-turn is welcome, though it would have been better still if they had not needed me to point out that what they were seeking to do was unacceptable".