Conservative Party Co-Chairman Sayeeda Warsi has criticised the architects of Labour's pensions raid for turning the British pensions system "from one of the best in the world into one which is struggling to cope".
Newly released documents dating from 1997 expose the dangerous arrogance with which Ed Balls and other Labour Ministers ignored official warnings that their plans could cut the income of millions of pensioners by up to a fifth.
The uncovered documents, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show how the Labour Government was warned that changes they were planning to the tax system for pension funds could result in a 20 per cent fall in share prices, with a massive knock-on effect on pensions. Labour Ministers ignored these warnings and proceeded with the changes.
The decision to abolish dividend tax credits has been estimated to have cost British pensioners up to £150 billion, and was described by one Pension Fund expert as the 'biggest attack on pension provision since the war'. Two million pensioners have been left living in poverty.
"As Gordon Brown’s key adviser in the Treasury in 1997, Ed Balls should come clean about his involvement in Labour’s unfair pensions raid", Warsi added.
"How can he claim to lead the Labour Party forward when he can't own up to his past mistakes?".