Equitable Life (Payments) Bill

Lord Watts Excerpts

Tuesday 14th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hoban]

My right hon. Friend makes an important point. There are two decisions to be taken. One is on the loss figure and the other is on the amount of compensation that the taxpayer can afford to pay. It is right that those decisions are made in the context of the spending review. That decision will be announced on 20 October.

[Mr Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Lab)]

Is not the point made by his right hon. and hon. Friends this: when on the Government Benches we accepted the recommendations in principle—[Laughter.] Both the Liberals and the Tories in opposition gave policyholders the impression that they would be far more generous. Are they not now going back on their word which they gave before the general election?

[Mr Hoban]

I should not have given way to the hon. Gentleman. He has identified the problem. The previous Government could have dealt with the matter, but it is left to the present Government. We have to sort out not just this mess, but the mess that Labour left behind in the state of the public finances. That is the problem that we have to face in dealing with the Equitable Life issue.

--- Later in debate ---

[Stephen Timms]

I think I am right in saying that the hon. Gentleman was one of those who signed the pledge. He will now need to work extremely hard to persuade his hon. Friends on the Front Bench to deliver what he and so many of his hon. Friends have signed up to.

[Mr Watts]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Bill is a smokescreen designed to hide a U-turn, and that every Tory and Liberal MP pledged before the election to do something that they are obviously not going to do?

[Stephen Timms]

I am afraid that my hon. Friend is absolutely right. We got some process today, and that is it.