‘Triple lock suspension lets down our pensioners’

MORE than 17,000 pensioners in the borough will be impacted by the suspension of the triple lock system.

Data from the House of Commons Library, analysed by the Liberal Democrats, revealed that 17,333 state pensioners will be affected by the decision.

The triple lock means that the state pension must rise each year in line with the highest of three possible figures; inflation, average earnings or 2.5%.

It was created during the coalition government but has been suspended for 2022 to 2023.

Instead, pensions will be determined by either the inflation rate or 2.5%.

Work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey said the triple lock will be restored for the remainder of this Parliament, which ends in 2024.

Cllr Clive Jones, deputy leader for the Wokingham Liberal Democrat group, said it is a broken promise from the Conservatives.

The party had planned to keep the system in place until 2024, but last week, it was scrapped following a parliamentary vote.

The three Conservative MPs in the borough supported the vote.

Cllr Jones said: “The government is turning its back on local elderly residents, who risk no longer being able to heat their homes this winter as energy costs spiral.

“This is yet another broken promise from the Conservatives that will hit pensioners in Wokingham hard in the pocket.

“Our pensioners deserve a fair deal. The triple lock was a cast iron guarantee that vulnerable elderly people were relying on, and the Conservatives have failed them.”

The councillor called on the Government to support Wokingham’s state pensioners living in poverty.

“Liberal Democrats are demanding that the government ... ensures that we don’t return to the days of the 75p rise to the state pension,” he added.

Cllr Rachel Burgess, leader of Wokingham Labour, said it was shameful for the Conservative Party to break its manifesto pledge.

“The triple lock was introduced in 2010 to make up for the damage caused to state pensions by Margaret Thatcher’s decision to unlink the value of pensions from wages,” she said.

“For three decades, pensioners got relatively poorer. Slowly, the triple lock has been clawing back the lost decades.

“But still the UK has one of the least generous pensions in Europe, and British pensioners are the worst off in Europe, with many living in poverty.

“Axing the triple lock not only guarantees our pensioners do not get a fair return on a lifetime of contributions but it will also affect everyone who will claim a pension in the future.”

Cllr Burgess was concerned it could bring uncertainty to residents of retirement age.

“Those who are in work and approaching retirement are having to work longer, and they should not have to face further income reductions and uncertainty,” she added.

“With food prices rising, energy bills going through the roof and year after year of high Council Tax rises, the Conservatives are making pensioners pay an extra price by not giving them money they have earned.

“There is no good reason why the Conservatives choose to make British pensioners the worst off in Europe. Put simply, it is a political choice.”

The borough’s three Conservative MPs were contacted for their views.