The proposal has been dismissed as "incoherent" and "bizarre" by pensions experts.
Considering UKIP’s electoral base is largely drawn from the over-60s, you would think the party would have a carefully tailored set of policy proposels to woo this section of the electorate.
The importance of the so-called ‘grey vote’ is recognised by the three major parties, and is evident in the way they assiduously court older voters. Young people have felt the burden of the recession more than most yet last week’s budget gave the biggest boost to pensioners. And it makes sense that politicians behave in this fashion: older people vote, after all, whereas young people very often don’t.
Someone ought to tell UKIP’s new economics spokesperson this, however.
As well as suggesting that solar panels should be installed on pensioners’ homes (presumably to tackle the man-made climate change they don’t believe exists) and that the Bank of England should be abolished, UKIP’s new economics guru Steven Woolfe has called for the abolition of the state pension and its replacement with a private system.
The proposal has been dismissed as “incoherent” and “bizarre” by pensions experts.
Commenting on Woolfe plan, head of pensions research at Hargreaves Lansdown Tom McPhail said:
“There is nothing like a coherent and well-thought through retirement policy; and this is nothing like a coherent pensions policy,” Lansdown said.
Think tank Strategic Society Centre director James Lloyd also called the hairbrain scheme “bizarre”:
“This would take hundreds of years of strict public finances to have an impact. It is bizarre UKIP could be going after the state pension when its core voters are pensioners.”
As a result UKIP has already sought to distance itself from Woolfe, claiming his ideas were “never party policy and are not under consideration”.
Not that this is the first UKIP policy that’s bizarre or incoherent, of course.
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22 Responses to “‘Abolish the state pension’: meet UKIP’s new economics spokesperson”
Tony Malony
Keep the smears coming, nobody is listening, the establishment have failed the people of this country, it’s time for change, VOTE UKIP
Ben Popkid
*Yawns at the continued ‘Smear’ excuse*
Ian Blackburn
No shock really. UKIP have more right wing failures among its ranks than the Tories. Another week and another useless policy idea. A smear is when something is thrown at a party to undermine them. This is no smear. It simply says what another UKIP numpty believes. Party is full of them. Last week it was UKIP idea, from a UKIP candidate/spokesperson to charge for being seen at A&E if it is not an emergency. People need to find out what the UKIP is about, not just take it that they are somehow different. Farage says what ever he thinks the people – some of the people – want to hear. Most of us find out the facts and find UKIP way off course. Wonder what nutty policy idea they will come up with next week?
Cole
So are you going to abolish pensions or not?
swatnan
At last! A policy from UKIP!
Nigel’s Run. Abolish Pensioners.