Andy Burnham’s 2-word verdict on state pension triple lock | Politics | News
Prime Minister wannabe Andy Burnham has given his thoughts on the much-debated pension triple lock guarantee that no party leader has dared to touch for decades. The triple lock ensures that the state pension increases each year in line with inflation, wage increases or 2.5%, whichever is higher. But critics of the system argue that ballooning pension payments driven by rising life expectancy mean the economy is being dragged down by welfare spending, which is predicted to reach £400bn by 2030.
This includes DWP benefit spending, tax credits and child benefits, and Northern Ireland social security. Total welfare spending in Britain is forecast to be 10.6% of GDP and 23.6% of the total amount spent by the government between 2025 and 2026. About 55% of social security spending goes to retirees; We will spend £177.7bn on benefits for UK pensioners in 2025-26. But despite huge national and government spending on social welfare, Andy Burnham he told iPaper He said it would be “very damaging” if Labor backtracked on its last general election promise to protect the lock.
Progressive think tank the Resolution Foundation warned last week that the triple lock is not affordable in the long term and is unfair to the working population.
He suggested replacing the policy with a different mechanism to protect retirees’ earnings.
Wes Streeting, Andy Burnham’s potential rival for No 10, has also clarified his position on the lock three. He said: “I can be absolutely clear on that.
“The triple lock is here to stay for the entirety of this Parliament.”
Elsewhere, Mr Streeting also said the Government was sticking to its “red lines” in negotiations with the EU for a closer relationship with the bloc.
Will Prescott, head of research at think tank Bright Blue, said Andy Burnham should look at “big items” such as state pensions rather than “fixing the edges” if he wants to bring down the welfare bill.
“If you really want to touch the welfare bill, you’re going to have to go for really big spending, and it’s going to be extremely politically painful to do that, unfortunately,” he told The i Paper.
Economist Alex Clegg, of the Solution Foundation think tank, said it would be “encouraging if the debate about what could happen with the triple lock could take place before the next election and into the manifesto period for all parties”.
