TORY PENSION CUTS DEAD IN THE WATER

Dup set to scupper proposal as part of power deal

PLANS to slash the annual increase in the state pension have been torpedoed by the shock General Election result.

The Tories had been planning to kill off the so- called “triple lock”, which guaranteed at least a 2.5% hike in the lifeline payment with a less generous deal. But with no majority Government and a hung parliament, it now means the controversial move will be blocked in a boost for struggling pensioners.

Downing Street last night said an outline agreement had been reached with the Democratic Unionist Party – led by Arlene Foster, pictured right – to prop up Theresa May’s government.

However, a DUP source has told The Sunday Post they won’t support any change to the triple lock.

All of the opposition parties oppose changing the triple lock – which was introduced in 2010 and guarantees pensions will rise by the higher of prices, average earnings or 2.5% – so the plan is finished.

Announcing the deal with the DUP, which will see the Northern Ireland party support the Government on a vote by vote basis but not a full coalition, a No 10 spokesman said: “We welcome this commitment, which can provide the stability and certainty the whole country requires as we embark on Brexit and beyond.

“The details will be put forward for discussion and agreement at Cabinet meeting on Monday.”

A DUP source said: “There will be no formal coalition and we have other priorities – not least Brexit – for the negotiations, but we won’t support any changes to the pensions triple lock.”

And a source close the UK Government said: “To be frank, I don’t think we’ll put up much of a fight on this one given that the issue tanked during the election, though you still have find the money to pay for this.”

During the General Election, the Tories said they would keep the triple lock guarantee until 2020, then replace it with a so-called “double lock”.

This would mean the state pension no longer rises by the minimum of 2.5%, but by whichever is the highest of inflation or annual earnings growth.

This means pensioners would be potentially worse off. UK Government estimates put the current cost of the policy at £6 billion a year.

SNP MP Ian Blackford said retaining the triple lock would be good news for pensioners.

But added: “If Theresa May can’t even rely on her new friends in the DUP to support her key manifesto commitments then she is in serious trouble – it shows just how disastrous her campaign was.

“At every turn, SNP MPs will stand up to the Tory plans to remove the triple lock on pensions.”

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s two closest aides have quit in the wake of the disastrous General Election result.

Mrs May’s joint chiefs of staff, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, resigned in the wake of the election which saw the Tories lose a Commons majority.

The role of Mr Timothy and Ms Hill as Mrs May’s joint chiefs of staff had been severely criticised by disgruntled Tories in the wake of the election result.

Mr Timothy acknowledged that one of his regrets was the way Mrs May’s social care policy – dubbed the “dementia tax” by critics – had been handled.

The Prime Minister was forced to perform an unprecedented U- turn

within days of the publication of the Tory manifesto by announcing that there would be a cap on social care costs, something that had been absent in the original policy document.

In a resignation message on the Conservative Home website, Mr Timothy said: “I take responsibility for my part in this election campaign, which was the oversight of our policy programme.

“In particular, I regret the decision not to include in the manifesto a ceiling as well as a floor in our proposal to help meet the increasing cost of social care.

“But I would like to make clear that the bizarre media reports about my own role in the policy’s inclusion are wrong – it had been the subject of many months of work within Whitehall, and it was not my personal pet project.

“I chose not to rebut these reports as they were published, as to have done so would have been a distraction for the campaign. But I take responsibility for the content of the whole manifesto, which I continue to believe is an honest and strong programme.”

The Prime Minister sent Chief Whip Gavin Williamson to Belfast to lead the talks, with the resulting “confidence and supply” agreement announced yesterday evening.

The DUP’s 10 MPs will be crucial on supporting the Conservatives, who were left eight seats short of a full majority in Thursday’ s General Election, on key votes.

It would mean the DUP backing the Government on its Budget and prevent it being brought down by motions of no confidence, but could potentially lead to other issues being decided on a vote-by-vote basis.

Mrs May was expected to make further appointments to her Cabinet, but the damage to her own standing makes it less likely she will risk alienating colleagues by carrying out an extensive reshuffle. She simply cannot afford to have disgruntled former ministers sniping at her from the backbenches.