LABOUR has promised to maintain the triple lock guarantee on Britain’s state pension increases until 2025 if it wins the next General Election, raising the incomes of older voters by several hundreds of pounds.
Invoking memories of John Prescott and New Labour’s pledge card in the run-up to the 1997 and subsequent elections, John McDonnell, the Shadow Chancellor, has put the new commitment on a pensioners' pledge card, along with other promises aimed at wooing older voters ahead of May’s local elections.
Labour will also promise compensation for women hardest-hit by increases in the state pension age, protection for elderly Britons living overseas, and a commitment to keep winter fuel payments and free bus passes.
The triple lock mechanism guarantees that the state pension increases annually by the highest measure out of average wages, inflation, or 2.5 per cent.
In his Autumn Statement, Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, signalled that while the triple lock was safe for now, it might not be immune from cuts in the longer term ie after 2020.
This Labour sees as an opportunity to win over the grey vote.
The party said the commitment to maintain the triple lock would increase pensioners' incomes by at least £650 between 2021/22 and 2023/24, compared with increasing the state pension in line with inflation.
House of Commons Library analysis showed that for those on the basic state pension, the triple lock would be worth £652.60 over the period, while for those on the new state pension the guarantee would be worth £852.80.
Mr McDonnell said: "I am delighted to be launching this pledge card that will inform many elderly people in our communities that Labour is not only promising to stand up for pensioners, but is determined to ensure they keep the hard-won entitlements they currently hold.
"It's a national scandal that pensioner poverty is rising and the Tories are refusing to commit to keeping the triple lock or compensate women worst affected by the speeding up in the state pension age.
"Only a Labour government will stand up for pensioners and protect them throughout the next parliament," added the Shadow Chancellor, who will launch the pledge card during a campaign visit to Coventry.
However, Labour's latest promises were dismissed by the Tories, who claimed that pensioners would suffer because Jeremy Corbyn's party would "crash" the economy by failing to control public finances.
Conservative MP Kelly Tolhurst said: "Labour's economic mismanagement hit older people hard when they were in government and Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell's reckless plans would do the same all over again.
"Our careful management of the economy, changes to help people save more for their retirement, and protections for pensioner benefits and the state pension are all helping people have dignity and security in retirement," she added.
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