Andy Burnham announces he will keep controversial pensions triple lock when he become prime minister
Andy Burnham has announced he will keep controversial pensions under triple lock when he becomes prime minister.
The Prime Minister-in-waiting is under pressure from some economic advisers to abandon the scheme, which critics claim protects wealthy pensioners at the expense of young people.
He said he appreciated that there had been “a lot of debate” about the pledge and that “it is important that the commitment in the manifesto stands”.
Labour’s 2024 manifesto commits the party to a triple lock protecting the rate of state pension growth.
In an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Reddit, he also ruled out a snap election, saying he saw room for a better trade deal with the EU and opting for Martin Scorsese’s mafia thriller. friends among his favorite movies.
He also took a question from Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, who suggested he “should hold a proper press conference”. He said it was a “fair fight” but added that he faced questions from 74,000 voters before winning the recent Makerfield by-election.
For someone who could come in at number 10 as quickly as July 20, Mr Burnham has received little scrutiny for his policy platform and has given only one interview to LBC.
He ruled out the possibility of early elections and added that he would “work on the 2024 manifesto”.
But he said the party would campaign for a change in its next manifesto: proportional representation.
He said he was a “strong supporter of electoral reform because I believe it would enable a transition to a more collaborative policy and a policy that is about problem-solving rather than point-scoring.”
He added: “In the next manifesto I will try to persuade my own party that it should be given a manifesto commitment.”
The party’s 2024 manifesto instead focused on electoral and constitutional changes, extending the right to vote to 16 and 17-year-olds and reforming the House of Lords.
He said he would support Ukraine “100 percent” on foreign policy.
Asked if he saw “the possibility of negotiating a more ambitious trade deal than we currently have” with the EU, he said “yes” and promised to build on the “good work” the government has already done.
He also promised to ensure his defense investment plan is “fully funded”, days after the plan was finally published which led to John Healey resigning as defense secretary.
Regarding youth unemployment, “I don’t think the modern trend of only offering interviews via Teams or Zoom allows young people to transcend their personalities and passions.”
While he said that his favorite band right now is Doves, he listed his four favorite movies as follows: friends, Big Short, Closed with Rice And Pride.
