The Brown Defence

Previously we had the Elf Defence now we have the Brown Defence.

I have avoided comment on the Brown Pension story so far as I am still in a final pay scheme run by my company and as such am not directly affected by the problem, however now despite Mr Brown's best attempts at defusing the situation by managing to disappear at tough times, I will.

From what I now see in all the papers this story will run and run as it will affect so many people so hard in the future. It also shows up a number of the facets of Mr Brown's character that show he is unlikely ever to become Prime Minister.

Reading through the Independent article it becomes clear that Gordon Brown pushed through this little plan by himself against the advice of many people. He obviously thought of it as a neat little way of getting some extra money that would not affect people at that moment in time. However his little plan has now begun to fully unravel as we begin to understand all the affects, not just the closing of Final Pay Pensions.

This wonderful article on the BBC site will of course explain it all. Or maybe not. As far as I can see the defence for his destruction of pensions was that it was... necessary so that we could have the winter fuel allowance, the pensions credit and the planned relinking of the state pension to earnings. These are all add-ons to the state pension and would not be needed if he had not meddled with pensions. The only other defence is that it was... er.. neccesary and it was... right and it was... difficult.

So there we are Brown makes necessary and difficult decisions so he must be a good Prime Minister.

Special adviser warned Brown's raid on pensions was 'crackers' - Independent Online Edition > UK Politics