Starmer: Triple lock to stay under Labour

SIR KEIR STARMER last night pledged to retain the triple lock for pensioners for at least five years if he wins the next election.

The Labour leader has said that the policy will form a key part of his party’s manifesto as he bids to win over older voters in the next election. It means the state pension will rise in line with either inflation, average wage rises or by 2.5 per cent – whichever is highest.

Sir Keir, writing in the Sunday

Express, said: “Britain’s pensioners deserve better. They deserve certainty, and for politicians to be straight with them so they can plan their lives.

“That’s why I’m guaranteeing the pensions triple lock will be in the Labour manifesto and protected for the duration of the next parliament.”

He added: “We will never play fast and loose with your finances. We will never leave you in limbo.”

Sir Keir’s pledge comes after Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, vowed that keeping the triple lock would remain in the Tory manifesto.

Figures have revealed that more voters in the 75-plus age group support the Conservatives than Labour, according to the latest WeThink poll.

It highlights the Labour leader’s determination to ensure the party secures its lead in the polls, although the pensions bill reached £110.5billion in 2022-23 – nearly half of government spending on benefits. The figure is expected to rise even further and reach £124billion in 2023-24.

A total of 12.6 million people were receiving the state pension during February 2023.

But Sir Keir said that he believed the country was able to pay for the policy.

“I reject the arguments of those who say the triple lock needs to go because we can no longer afford to protect pensioners,” he said.

But concerns have previously been raised by Lord Hague, the former foreign secretary, that the triple lock is “ultimately unsustainable”.

The Tory peer claimed in September that it is “growing by more than anything that can pay for it – wages or prices, or taxes, or the size of the economy”.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said “retaining the triple lock for too long increases pension spending so significantly it leads to insurmountable pressure for a much higher pension age”.

It added that this would “particularly affect people with poorer health who struggle to remain in employment until they reach state pension age”.

The impact of the triple lock was that the new flat-rate state pension increased from £203.85 to £221.20 a week last month.

There was also a rise in the basic state pension by 8.5 per cent, from £156.20 to £169.50.