PETER Luff was not a popular man among his Conservative colleagues yesterday.

Normally, MPs head back to their constituencies on Thursday night to prepare for a day of meetings, appointments, photo opportunities, etc.

But this week was different, with Tory MPs packed into the lobby and on the opposition benches.

And it was all thanks to Peter. In his role as Treasury whip, he was responsible for imposing a three-line whip on his colleagues - leaving them with no option but to grin and bear it in London.

''I think I'm the most unpopular man in the party at the moment,'' he said. ''Most of us had full diaries in what is the first weekend back in our constituencies after the Christmas break.''

Peter was not trying to be difficult. He was giving his support to a Private Member's Bill introduced by Tory MP David Curry.

The Bill, that deals with the complicated subject of pension annuities, would have fallen if Labour MPs had called for a vote at a time when there were fewer than 100 members present.

Peter said that more and more of his constituents approaching 75 years of age had expressed their anger that they were obliged to cash in their pensions and purchase an annuity with the funds in their pension scheme.

As annuities are now getting much lower rates of return, pensioners are finding their standard of living can fall sharply at 75.

The Bill would reform compulsory annuity purchase rules for certain types of private pensions.

It would limit the requirement to purchase an annuity to an amount giving a minimum retirement income.