In a recent interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, UK Conservative Party member and former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt confirmed that if the Conservatives win the next general election, the party will keep the triple lock system that decides rises in the state pension. The triple lock system was introduced in 2010 by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government, and it ensures that the pension rises in line with average earnings growth, inflation, or 2.5%, whichever is highest. The current level of the state pension is worth £203.85 a week for the full, new flat-rate, and £156.20 a week for the full, old basic state pension. The state pension is a payment made every four weeks by the government to people who have reached the qualifying age and have paid enough National Insurance contributions.
The triple lock policy has been a topic of debate in recent years due to its estimated costs. Mr Hunt acknowledged that continuing the policy would be an “expensive commitment,” but he added that it could only be made if the party was confident in delivering economic growth to pay for it. Meanwhile, other parties such as Labour have also expressed their commitment to retaining the triple lock, but have yet to confirm whether it will feature in their election manifesto. Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney called the Conservatives’ triple lock pledge a “shameless election trick,” and Yael Selfin, chief economist at accountancy firm KPMG, suggested that the extra spending on pensions would not necessarily stimulate growth on its own.
Inflation rose by 3.4% in the year to February, which is the lowest rate since September 2021, and the Bank of England’s target is to keep inflation at or around 2%. Despite the sharp fall in inflation, interest rates are at a 16-year high and the cost-of-living crisis is still affecting many households. Mr Hunt said that the UK was “not there yet” in his assessment of the crisis, but added that a fall in interest rates would “make the biggest difference for families up and down the country.”
Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies economic think tank, expressed his view that the Conservative Party’s pledge to keep the triple lock system was not surprising, given that pensioners are an important voting demographic for them. However, he also warned that the policy “can’t go on forever” and that the party would need to give an indication of when they plan to stop it
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More