Kemi Badenoch has said the triple lock is “current” Tory policy and in the “draft manifesto”. The Opposition leader said the policy was “becoming more expensive” as a result of the UK’s flatlining economy but insisted she wanted to focus on “the root cause” of the problem by reviving growth.
Burnham’s social care plans criticised
Andy Burnham has announced plans to end the existing state pension guarantee which he hopes will raise £15 billion a year by the end of the 2030s to help pay for a new national care service. The Tories have criticised the move as unfunded, though senior party figures including former chancellor Jeremy Hunt and shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat have individually suggested the current triple lock is unsustainable.
Asked whether she agreed the existing guarantee needed to be reformed, Mrs Badenoch told the Press Association: “I don’t believe this is a policy that even (Andy Burnham) understands. His sums don’t add up.
“What I have been consistent in saying is that the real problem in our country is welfare, people who can work who aren’t working.
“So we are not going after pensioners who cannot work, it’s the people who can work who are not working, that’s where our welfare bill is going out of control.”
Triple lock affordability questioned
She added: “The savings he’s supposed to get from his changes to the triple lock will save about £15 billion after 2030.
“Actually, when you look at what is happening with welfare under Labour, those figures are about £50 billion, so he’s not tackling the problem today where it’s at, he’s talking about 2030 saving less money, so there’s no way that’s going to pay for a national care service.”
Under the Prime Minister’s plans from 2030, the state pension will rise every year by at least CPI (Consumer Prices Index) inflation or 2.5%, breaking the triple lock’s automatic link with increases in average earnings. But officials insisted it will also rise by more than this if needed in some years, to ensure it holds its value relative to earnings.
Badenoch defends manifesto commitment
Asked whether she could guarantee the current triple lock would remain in place if the Tories returned to power, Mrs Badenoch told PA: “We were the ones who brought in the triple lock.
“Others will have a different opinion, I have mine, and my opinion is that we need to start off with welfare.”
Pressed on whether she thought the UK could afford the triple lock, Mrs Badenoch said: “The reason why everybody is talking about the triple lock is because we don’t have growth.
“If we were growing as an economy, nobody would be talking about the triple lock, and that’s why I am focusing on the root cause, which is that we’re getting poorer, rather than focusing on a symptom, which is that the triple lock is getting more expensive.”
On whether she could guarantee the policy would be in the next Tory manifesto, the party leader said: “Our current policies are in our draft manifesto. The triple lock is our policy and in our draft manifesto.”
The Prime Minister has denied he will need to hike taxes to fund his plans for a new NHS-style care service in England, despite warnings from experts that adjusting the state pension guarantee will not fully cover the costs.
Speaking at the Labour Party’s conference in Liverpool, Mr Burnham said the new care system would be “fully funded – and not through borrowing” where “everyone contributes and everyone is covered.” He wanted to build a “national consensus” around plans being drawn up following a consultation by Baroness Louise Casey.
“I accept I may pay a political price,” he said. “But someone has to go through the pain barrier and rip the plaster off.”
Jonathan Cribb, deputy director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), has said the reforms will not “be the answer to funding universal social care” and warned the triple lock was “unpredictable”, making it hard to know how much could be saved by the Treasury through changes. Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of The King’s Fund, said the proposal for a national care service “will be expensive for the state” and said “a realistic and funded plan for action to achieve this” should be forthcoming.
