Howard: On the attack

Michael Howard has accused the government of failing to tackle Britain's pensions crisis.

Clashing with Tony Blair in the Commons, the Conservative leader accused ministers of not doing enough to encourage Britons to save for old age.

The row came a day after an interim report from the Pensions Commission, chaired by Adair Turner, concluded that around 12 million people are not saving enough for old age.

Howard said the prime minister wanted to build a consensus on pensions, and pointed out that many campaign groups and experts had already called for a reduction in means testing for pensioners. "Will he now joint that consensus?" asked the Conservative leader.

Blair said his government had helped pensioners with a range of measures including higher winter fuel payments and free TV licences for the over-75s.

And he defended the means tested Pensioner Credit as "necessary to tackle existing pensioner poverty".

"We have, and we make no apology for this, been trying to focus on the poorer pensioners first," added Blair.

Howard said that by backing means testing the prime minister was rejecting "out of hand" the consensus he had previously called for.

"It's time to stop talking and start taking action," he urged, warning that means testing was discouraging savings.

But Blair said it was "the only way we are able to get help to the poorest pensioners first".

"If he wants to talk about action, of course the Conservatives did act when they were in office," he added.

"When the Tories left office one in four pensioners were living in poverty.

"They broke the link with earnings yet the Tory party today go on about the link of the basic state pension to earnings as if it had always been their great crusade."

Blair said he did still want "a consensus going forward" but would not "pay much attention" to what the Conservatives said.

But Howard hit back, saying pensioner poverty had not declined since Labour took power in 1997.

"If the prime minister calls for a consensus and doesn't build one, and if he commissions a report but he doesn't act on it, what prospect is there for pensions in this country?"

Responding to the criticism, Blair insisted the government was implementing a range of measures to help those in work now as well as existing pensioners.

"There is a whole series of things we are doing, and we will do more once we get the final recommendations of the Turner commission," he said.

"Yes we will build a consensus but I rather suspect it may be without the Conservatives."