The SNP don’t have a clue on pensions

Gordon Brown has shown once again why he is such a formidable politician. The Scottish National party wants to talk about anything except what this referendum will really mean for hard-working Scots – but last night that is exactly what Gordon did.

Gordon knows that when it comes to pensions, people want confidence and security above all else. Most people want to be sure that after a lifetime of playing by the rules and working hard they have a happy, comfortable and hopefully long retirement to look forward to.

But in his speech for Better Together, Gordon showed that on pensions there is a choice between the relative safety of the United Kingdom or a gamble and a missing £500m with the SNP’s independence plans.

Using unpublished internal Department for Work and Pensions figures, Gordon opened two new fronts in the referendum debate – and with them he exposed the SNP’s rhetoric for what it is: empty words and wishful thinking.

The numbers might seem complicated but the conclusion is simple – there is a huge cash benefit for Scotland in staying with the UK.

First, his figures show that as the number of Scottish pensioners rises from one million to 1.3 million, the UK will pay the escalating cost of Scottish pensions that will rise from a £425m-a-year extra benefit to a £700m-a-year extra benefit over the next two decades, because while Scotland pays eight per cent of UK national insurance, it receives more than nine per cent of the benefits.

And second, he showed that the UK will underwrite an estimated £100bn Scots public sector pensions bill – 10 per cent of the UK’s total, even though Scotland has only eight per cent of the population.

The bottom line is that today, Scotland receives £9.6bn a year in overall pensioner benefits but that Scotland would receive just £9.1billion in pensioner benefits if pensions cash was allocated only on our population share – and not on the basis of need.

So how will the SNP plug the gap – they will not say. They have not got a clue, and truth be told they do not think people should have the temerity to ask these sorts of questions of their grand project. Theirs is an arrogant impatience fuelled by nationalist fervour. Those who ask even the most basic of questions are told that they do not believe in Scotland and are hounded by the hateful ‘cybernats’.

But most of the rest of us will do what we feel and think is the best thing for Scotland. In contrast Gordon showed once again yesterday that the SNP are asking Scots to vote for a country that they will not let Scots see. No details on an independent Scotland’s future economy, public services or pensions. Most people would not buy a secondhand car on that basis let alone plan the future of a country.

As Gordon said, for too long the referendum debate has been presented as one side representing Scotland and the other side representing Britain.

But the real debate is between two Scottish visions of Scotland’s future – and there is no question which vision is the more appealing: the potential to have the best of both worlds, a strong Scottish parliament backed up by a system of pooling and sharing risks and resources across the UK.

I have said before that I am a patriot, not a nationalist. If I thought independence was a good idea I would vote for it. It is not and I will not. Voters want the best future for Scotland and the gaping hole in the yes campaign’s pensions policy is a good example of why. Nationalists believe in a ‘for richer or for poorer’ type of separation. They want independence regardless of the costs or consequences. Most of the rest of us will do what we feel and think is the best thing for Scotland. After last night we are again reminded about what is best for Scottish pensions.

Photo: Brent MacAloney