Andy Burnham is expected to propose scrapping the pension triple lock to fund a major social care overhaul, according to reports. In his biggest speech since becoming Prime Minister, Mr Burnham will outline plans to fix the broken system after warning it could collapse the NHS.
The PM says he wants solving the long-running social care crisis to be his legacy, but it will lead to difficult discussions about how to pay for it. There have long been questions about whether the triple lock - which ensures the state pension rises by either 2.5%, inflation, or average wage increases, whichever is higher - is sustainable.
Cost and impact of the triple lock
The policy costs an estimated £15 billion a year, but advocates say the 16-year-old policy is a crucial safeguard against pensioner poverty. However, sorting out the social care mess would have an enormous benefit to pensioners and their families.
Mr Burnham wants to launch a 'big conversation', and Labour frontbenchers have clarified that any changes will not come before the general election. But they have not ruled out the policy being in the firing line in future.
Union and Labour responses
Unite union leader Sharon Graham said the PM must not "pick the pocket of pensioners". Instead, she said, Labour must look toward taxes on the wealthy.
Ms Graham stated: "I think that it's really important that everyday people know the direction of Labour. And I think it's important that they can see that the who pays question is not going to be workers and the working class. Workers and the working class have been paying since 2008. They've got absolutely nothing left to give. It's empty. And what we need to do now, instead of going and trying to pick the pocket of pensioners, we need to move over to the other side of the equation and look at things like wealth taxes way before we try to stop something like the triple lock."
But Lucy Powell, deputy leader of the Labour Party and Education Secretary, said delivering Andy Burnham's plans for a National Care Service will require difficult conversations.
Powell defends triple lock
Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday morning, Ms Powell said: "I support the triple lock, it's in our manifesto. But I also think we need to have this bigger conversation about how we solve the social care crisis. We are all paying for the social care crisis already. Either those that need it, who are acutely and significantly paying social care costs themselves - you can't even insure yourself against social care costs - but we're also all paying for it with the crisis in our NHS. My husband's an A&E doctor, and he tells me every day that the biggest pressure, the biggest burden on his department and on his hospital is people who should otherwise be being looked after in care and in the community. So we are already paying for this. We do need to have that conversation about how those costs are fairly shared. Let's do that."
