, Labour's Shadow Work and Pensions
Secretary, responding to the Government's refusal to
rule out breaking the triple lock on state pensions a second
time, said:
“Thérèse Coffey has just refused to guarantee she won’t break the
triple lock for a second year in a row.
“Pensioner poverty is up, bills are up, and pensioners are facing
a real terms cut to the state pension of over £300 this year. The
Conservatives are failing to give them the security they deserve
in retirement.
“The simple truth is pensioners simply can’t trust the Tories.”
Ends
Notes to editors:
- In Work and Pensions Oral Questions today, the Secretary of
State for Work and Pensions Thérèse Coffey refused to answer
whether the triple lock would be broken next year.
Jonathan Ashworth: She has also made a choice,
by breaking her promise on the triple lock, to cut the basic
state pension in real terms by – according to the Daily
Telegraph - £388 this year. Her justification for that was that
earning would be at 8 per cent. Now the Bank of England is
estimating that inflation will hit eight per cent. So can she
rule out breaking the triple lock again this year?
Thérèse Coffey: As was explained at the time,
the increase in earnings was due to a statistical anomaly due
to the impact of covid. That is why the opposition supported
the bill right through the house - [interruption] - until
it came back from the Lords. So there was a lot of support at
the time recognising that statistical anomaly at that moment.
