This is part of a series of eighteen questions from The Democracy Club asked of the Isle of Wight candidates in the 2010 General Election (background).
National statement six: People should provide for their own retirement, and not demand the state to help them do so.
| Candidate | Position | Comment | |
| Ian Dunsire (English Democrats Party) | agrees | “People that have saved for their old age should not be penalised for their thrift. This growing problem needs cross-party resolution – it affects us all!!!!” | |
| Bob Keats (Green Party) | is neutral | “The government have done too little too late about securing income for the growing number of pensioners. Theee needs to be better planning.” | |
| Pete Harris (Independent) | strongly disagrees | “The pension issue illustrates how badly run Britain has been. I’m all for a reliable old age pension funded by a compulsory form of taxation. If people want then an additional pension, that will be for them to arrange.” | |
| Paul Martin (Middle England Party) | is neutral | “We have got to get back to community/family driven responsibilities overall. The western world is going to continue to shrink in terms of its ability to produce more and more ‘stuff’ and it is this ‘stuff’ that has produced a selfish society.” | |
| Paul David Randle-Jolliffe (Independent) | strongly disagrees | “Both should be possible and a balance struck not everybody is as able to provide for themselves, what has happened is Gov has raided everyones pension kitty.” | |
| Mark Chiverton (Labour Party) | disagrees | “People should be encouraged to make some provision for their old age but we need to bear in mind that poorer families will find this exceptionally difficult. It is essential that a good level of state pension underpins any personal arrangement.” | |
| Michael Tarrant (UK Independence Party – UKIP) | agrees | “Again this a loaded question. Why do you use the word "demand" and not "expect"? Yes people should provide for their own retirement but where they are unable to do so through being low-waged or illness they have right to expect the state to provide.” | |
| Jill Wareham (Liberal Democrats) | disagrees |
Those who didn’t provide responses: Andrew Turner – Conservative, Geof Clynch – BNP and Edward Corby – Independent
The idea for this whole idea came from the excellent The Democracy Club and answers are hosted by the splendid
Election issue of TheyWorkForYou.
Image: janet under CC BY 2.0
