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07/09/2004
Pensions Secretary quits government
The Work and Pensions Secretary Andrew Smith has resigned from the Cabinet, saying he quit in order to commit more time to his constituency and spend more time with his family.
Last night, the Prime Minister described Mr Smith as “an excellent colleague and a first-class minister who will be greatly missed'' following his decision to leave the government. Tony Blair had urged the minister to stay on but the decision was final.
The Labour MP for Oxford East had said that he wanted to leave his post “to devote more time to the responsibilities I enjoy in my constituency and to my family''.
In his resignation letter to Tony Blair, Mr Smith wrote: “Over the summer, I have discussed with my family the contribution I wish to make in public life.
“I have chosen to leave the government and to devote more time to the responsibilities I enjoy in my constituency and to my family.''
The Lib Dem Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Steve Webb, said that the former minister's tenure could not be fondly remembered.
"Andrew Smith’s period in office will be remembered as one when the crises in company pensions grew unchecked, where mass means testing was the order of the day and the pensions system became more complicated than ever," he said.
He said that Mr Smith's successor needed to reverse the drive towards means testing, restore confidence in company pensions and radically simplify the whole pensions system.
(gmcg/mb)
Last night, the Prime Minister described Mr Smith as “an excellent colleague and a first-class minister who will be greatly missed'' following his decision to leave the government. Tony Blair had urged the minister to stay on but the decision was final.
The Labour MP for Oxford East had said that he wanted to leave his post “to devote more time to the responsibilities I enjoy in my constituency and to my family''.
In his resignation letter to Tony Blair, Mr Smith wrote: “Over the summer, I have discussed with my family the contribution I wish to make in public life.
“I have chosen to leave the government and to devote more time to the responsibilities I enjoy in my constituency and to my family.''
The Lib Dem Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Steve Webb, said that the former minister's tenure could not be fondly remembered.
"Andrew Smith’s period in office will be remembered as one when the crises in company pensions grew unchecked, where mass means testing was the order of the day and the pensions system became more complicated than ever," he said.
He said that Mr Smith's successor needed to reverse the drive towards means testing, restore confidence in company pensions and radically simplify the whole pensions system.
(gmcg/mb)
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