Former MP for Harrow West
There is no need for the hon. Gentleman to get nasty just because he cannot answer the point, which is very simple. I am not making those allegations: his colleague the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms Harman) is. I did not write the letter in which she says: We would seek the advice of the Government Actuary, but we anticipate that those who retire early would receive a lower level of basic state...
It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough and Horncastle (Mr. Leigh), as I agree with the tone and the content of his remarks. One of the most interesting speeches today was by the Chairman of the Select Committee on Social Security, the hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field). I think that he deserves a prize for acrobatics. He did not want to criticise those on...
The hon. Member for Hackney, North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott) has made a very valuable point. In the Chilean scheme, which is not the same as that introduced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State but which the Social Security Committee looked at last year, all such things are completely transparent. One cannot possibly have transparency with an unfunded scheme—and we do not...
The hon. Lady is right to talk about regulation and making sure that people understand the figures. It is clear that her plan for a flexible decade of retirement would cost £15 billion, but she has said that a Labour Government would not raise that money. The alternative is that the basic pension would have to go down by £20 a week. I am perfectly prepared to accept in good faith what she...
How much will it cost?
The hon. Member for Newham, North-East (Mr. Timms) has the other scripted question.
Further to the points of order raised about the point of order raised by the hon. Member for Cunninghame, North (Mr. Wilson), Madam Speaker. Following what my hon. Friend the Member for Ryedale (Mr. Greenway) said, plainly the point made about him by the hon. Gentleman was factually inaccurate and wrong. Should not the House consider the point that the hon. Gentleman was receiving...
Does my right hon. Friend agree that he is to be particularly congratulated on harnessing the unique expertise of the Government communication agency with that of the big players in IT, and that that will deliver quality services in a way that will be beyond the imagination of many people—and, if I may say so, in a way that seems beyond the imagination of the Opposition spokesman, the right...
