Danny And Me -My Comments On His Statement

by Sean Whitfield


Extract from the Statement by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Rt Hon Danny Alexander MP on Public Service Pensions

Danny's statement is on the left, my comments are on the right.....
We need to be clear about the backdrop against which this offer is made.



I fully understand that families across the country are feeling financial pressure right now. These are unprecedented and tough economic times.

But reform is essential because the costs of public service pensions have risen dramatically over the last few decades.



The bottom line is that we are all living longer.

The average 60 year old today is living ten years longer now, than they did in the 1970s. That is a remarkable and welcome feat of science and healthcare. But it also means that people are living in retirement longer and claiming their pension for longer.

As a result the costs of public service pensions have risen to £32bn a year. An increase of a third over the last 10 years. And whilst they accounted for just under 1 % of GDP in 1970, they account for around 2% of GDP today.

More than we spend in total on police, on prisons, and the courts.


And for the most part, it hasn’t been the public service workers footing the bill. It’s been the general taxpayer.

We have to reform to ensure the costs of pensions are sustainable in the long term and to ensure costs and risks are fairly shared between employees and taxpayers.

I believe this package is affordable. I believe it is also fair, not just to public sector workers, but delivers significant long term savings to taxpayers who will continue to make a significant contribution to their pensions.

If reform along these lines is agreed, I believe that we will have a deal that can endure for at least 25 years and hopefully longer.

People are living longer, so public sector pension reform is inevitable. But we’ve listened to the concerns of public sector workers, and come up with a deal that’s fair and affordable. The lowest paid and people ten years off retirement will be protected – and public sector pensions will still be among the very best available.

 The backdrop is that we are all paying for the reckless greed of the financial Services and politicians failure to protect the public by putting in place the necessary controls.

Not for some, I am sure the majority in parliament do not feel any real financial pressure.


The cost is what the cost is, it’s a contract. Civil Servants have been told for decades that their pay can not be as high as the private sector because of our pensions & benefits WE HAVE ALREADY PAID for our pensions via low pay.

That sounds good, I don’t think I will apologise for that.

Sounds good, but how many are leading a full life? How many are dependent on others with associated costs.








Yes we all know we are not spending enough on police, prisons & the courts!!

I find this rhetoric offensive and provocative. Because of our pensions & benefits WE HAVE ALREADY PAID year on year via low pay.




I do have a memory and I know for a fact that the “Unions” not the employer wanted a long term plan for public service pay, we wanted pay comparability with the private sector, however the Government would not agree to it, because our pensions and terms & conditions were better than the private sector therefore not comparable. In other words we had to accept lower pay because of our benefits, hence we have already PAID for our pensions and all other benefits and will continue to do so in the future.

When those in the private sector were earning obscene amounts of money plus “bonuses” we just had to watch from the sidelines and be comforted by the thought of our job security and pension, but now that hard times have come we have been invited to share in it! No thanks.