Labour has conned pensioners.
The Chancellor’s suggestion that retirees are better off is a straight up lie
BEN WILKINSONHEAD OF MONEY10 September 2024 • 9:36am
The state pension will rise by less than £9 a week next year.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is keen to stress that this more than makes up for her ill-judged decision to pull winter fuel payments from millions of elderly people.
Sir Keir Starmer will surely do the same when he attempts to defend off a rebellion from his uneasy MPs in a showdown in Parliament today.
Yet this is a straight-up lie that Labour cannot be allowed to get away with. The triple lock is in place purely to ensure that those who rely solely on the state pension can keep up with the rising standard of living.
It’s nonsense for the Chancellor to suggest that pensioners will be £1,700 better off under Labour because in real terms they have already lost as much as £300.
Labour’s move to restrict winter fuel payments to those in receipt of pension credit has now been exposed for what it is – a rash and ruthless decision that could kill thousands of pensioners.
The party’s election commitment to the triple lock was always meaningless – and Labour knew it. After two years of sky-high inflation, the damage caused by the triple lock was largely done.
The increase to come in April only reflects earnings catching up with inflation, and the triple lock is unlikely to cause the Treasury much trouble over the next four years.
- Labour claims it has to make “tough decisions” but you’ve got to agree with its former leader Jeremy Corbyn when he says this is a lie. Pensioners will be poorer under Labour and there’s no twisting the truth about that.
Let’s not forget the erosive impact of Labour’s “retirement tax” which will mean that pensioners living solely on the state pension will be paying tax on it within this Parliament.
Sure, it’s the fault of the Tories who set the deep freeze on income thresholds, but Labour has refused to spare the state pension from income tax.
There has been lots of noise about wealthy pensioners not needing a £300 bump every winter, as if this excuses taking it away from some of the poorest. Labour’s benefits grab means anyone earning as little as £11,343 loses hundreds of pounds.
Let’s not forget that energy bills are now significantly higher than they were when Corbyn’s shadow cabinet was bleating about a Tory plot to take away winter fuel payments, and will rise another 10pc this winter. DT.
