Torsten Bell, the Labour pensions minister and former head of the Resolution Foundation, is the mastermind behind Andy Burnham's decision to scrap the state pension triple lock, according to a new analysis.
The Prime Minister's move to end the triple lock risks alienating millions of pensioners, who may be less likely to vote Labour at the next election. The triple lock has lifted millions of pensioners out of poverty, making the decision a divisive one that Westminster has avoided for years.
Bell's Rise Through Labour Ranks
Bell spent a decade as head of the left-wing policy factory the Resolution Foundation, publishing papers that mostly argued for higher taxes, especially on older people. He was parachuted into a Labour seat at the last election and quickly appointed pensions minister.
He was drafted in to write Rachel Reeves's second Budget but took none of the blame for the ensuing shambles. Reeves is gone, while Bell shows every sign of staying. He previously worked as an adviser to Alistair Darling during the financial crisis and served as Labour's director of policy under Ed Miliband.
A Record of Controversial Ideas
The infamous 2014 'Ed Stone' engraved with election pledges was Bell's idea, which swept away Miliband's chances of becoming PM. Bell has also been described as potty-mouthed, swearing in front of shocked colleagues.
Last year, a list of taxes Bell wanted to increase came to 20, including capping ISAs, scrapping inheritance tax bands, hiking council tax, charging capital gains tax on homes, and imposing an exit tax on taxpayers leaving the country. Reeves has already introduced several of these.
Impact on Pensioners
Bell has slammed the triple lock as a "silly system" and a "rubbish" mechanism. If Burnham follows through, millions of pensioners could see their retirement become more of a struggle.
Burnham must get the change through an election, and the danger is that it sinks him. As Reeves and Miliband learned, senior politicians need to tread carefully around Bell, who has a habit of torpedoing their ambitions while achieving his own.
