Kemi Badenoch has said her party would find it difficult to commit to restoring the state pension triple lock once Andy Burnham scraps it. The Conservative leader's comments follow Mr Burnham's conference speech, in which he announced plans to change the pension income protection to help fund a national care service.
Triple lock remains party policy
The triple lock ensures the State Pension rises by wages, inflation, or 2.5%, whichever is highest. Its abolition has prompted warnings from campaigners that pensioners could face increased poverty and tighter finances.
Speaking to Times Radio at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, Mrs Badenoch declined to commit to bringing the measure back. She said: “I have said that the triple lock is our policy, and it remains our policy. I don’t think going after pensioners is the right thing when there are loads of people who can work, who won’t work.”
Funding concerns raised
She added: “When we are going to reverse Labour’s policies, I say we are going to reverse their policies. I have said that we are keeping this policy, but if they take that money and they spend it on something that we can’t get it back from, then it would be difficult for me.”
“What I’m not going to do is lie to your listeners just so I can get votes. I tell the truth, and I say the triple lock is our policy and we’re keeping it,” she continued. “But what I’m not going to do is to say something when I don’t know what the situation would be about what Labour has done with that money. We have to be very careful.”
Reform UK's stance
Reform UK’s Nigel Farage said yesterday that his party was the “only” one committed to protecting the triple lock and reversing any changes made by Mr Burnham.
