Blair reveals Gordon Brown's pension reform threats
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Gordon Brown attempted to derail Lord Turner’s pension reforms by threatening to bring down Tony Blair over the loans for peerages scandal, according to Blair’s memoir.
In A Journey, published this morning, Blair writes that Brown told him to shelve Turner’s pension reform proposals or he would call for an inquiry into the loans scandal.
Blair says: “A hugely wide-ranging consultation…got as close to consensus as it is possible to get without yielding on the essential principles of reform. But bits of support peeled off on various different aspects. The Conservatives were not fully behind it, and the Treasury reaction was fierce”.
Recounting a meeting the morning the proposals were to get the go ahead, Blair writes: “He began the conversation not by talking of pensions, but by saying how damaging the loans thing was; that there might have to be an NEC inquiry; and he might have to call for one.”
He adds: “The temperature, already below freezing point, went arctic when he then said: Well it depends on this afternoon’s meeting. If I would agree to shelve the Turner proposals, he would not do it. But if I persisted, he would.”
An hour after the meeting in which Blair told Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton that the reforms were to go ahead Jack Dromey made his statement calling for an inquiry.
Blair says: “I really don’t know for a fact that Gordon put Jack up to it. Gordon denied ever speaking to him.”
He adds:“(Brown) was in favour of rebalancing rich and poor in provision of the basic state pension. I was totally opposed to that. I felt the public at large would consider the basic state pension as their ‘dividend’ or ‘entitlement’ for their national insurance contributions.”
Blair still believes the reforms led by Turner “will, in the end, form the basis of the next generation’s pensions provision”.
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Readers' comments (19)
Peter Butcher | 1 Sep 2010 1:25 pm
What a truly odious creature to be in charge of the UK's finances.
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Phillip Day | 1 Sep 2010 1:54 pm
Yup. More politics of envy and spite.
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John Hooper | 1 Sep 2010 2:03 pm
I passed a sign in a farmer's field the other day, which is due to open a new business complex and it said "Opening delayed- still clearing up the BROWN mess'. I think that applies to all of us. GB now in 'repair mode'. Al last, I can smell the paint as the decorators start work- a sign of recovery!!! hopefully..
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Evan Owen | 1 Sep 2010 2:07 pm
Does anyone think the nation is now a safer place?
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Julian Stevens | 1 Sep 2010 2:10 pm
Presumably this is the same Lord Turner who's currently chairman of the FSA? So he's done us no more favours on the pensions front than he has on the regulatory front. Not that we're actually asking for any favours on the regulatory front. A bit of simple balance and justice would suffice. Precious litle sign of either of those though, is there?
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Rod Leonard | 1 Sep 2010 2:14 pm
All the time Brown was milking the funded private pensions cow to billions of pounds, whilst making sure the unfunded Government pensions were the best for the Civil Service especially MP's and Ministers.
They make me sick.
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Graham Douglas | 1 Sep 2010 2:24 pm
As more and more revelations are revealed we can't help but realise that Brown was the most deserving recipient of the glorious come uppance he got at the General Election. Did the UK ever have a more devious, self serving, disloyal and odious politician at the country's helm than Brown? I think not.
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Bill Smith | 1 Sep 2010 2:33 pm
At this stage I would only say we got what we voted for................then I remember we never voted for Brown!
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Anonymous | 1 Sep 2010 2:55 pm
Between them Blair and Brown brought the country to its knees.
And to think that they both enjoy the protection of the statute of limitations !
(no doubt both believe this to be fair and reasonable)
Unless of course crimes were committed?
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Steve Laird | 1 Sep 2010 2:57 pm
Mind you, I wouldn't want Blair to get off too lightly. According to his memoirs he wanted to sack Brown for mismanaging the economy but was worried about the harm he'd do to the Labour party from the backbenches. Bless.
If he had any principles he would have sacked him for the good of the country, and forgotten the internal politics.
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