Pensions Bill

The right hon. Member for Birkenhead is much more knowledgeable than I am, so I shall try to be as brief as possible. I shall give the House an example of personal dignity. I want to talk about a man who used to be a middle manager, earning between £30,000 and £35,000 a year before his company became insolvent three years before he was due to retire. I shall not name him, and I hope that he will not mind me talking about him, but he is now picking up litter in a public park because he does not want to rely on means-tested benefits. Why on earth has this Parliament allowed such a thing to happen? At the risk of sounding like an alcoholic, I shall mention beer again. I am very proud to have bought the last pint enjoyed by a gentleman called David Cheshire. He had worked for the Dexion group for many years and, just after the company announced that it was insolvent and that his pension would be lost, he was diagnosed with untreatable, terminal cancer. A week before he died, and even though he was in great pain, David Cheshire joined one of the many pensioner rallies that have been held at this House. A large group of campaigners came to the Marquis of Granby pub just behind the Home Office, and I bought a round of drinks. David Cheshire told me, ““I never thought I’d be here having this pint, as I didn’t expect to live this long.? He died a week later, just after his wife Marlene told him that everything was okay and that the pension money had come through. It was a lie, because she wanted David to go to his grave peaceful in his mind that she would be looked after. I give way to the hon. Member for West Bromwich, West (Mr. Bailey).