Rishi Sunak will NOT axe the triple lock on pensions: Prime Minister set to fight the next election on the pledge to keep the policy

• This comes after Mr Sunak was told that scrapping the policy would be “political suicide”.

Rishi Sunak has said that scrapping the ‘triple lock’ on pensions would be ‘political suicide’ despite being told that it would be ‘political suicide’ to do so despite rising costs. He plans to go into the next election with a pledge to maintain the same.

The Chancellor has refused to commit to the policy beyond an 8.5% rise in the state pension next year, after experts said the welfare bill could rise by up to £45bn a year by 2050. was.

Treasury officials have been discussing temporarily lifting the triple lock (increasing pensions by the highest of average income growth, inflation or 2.5% in April of each year), which they hope will be announced in the next manifesto. There was also discussion about abolishing the guarantee. .

However, the Mail on Sunday reports that voters’ reaction to the idea of ​​scrapping the policy has been so negative that Conservative strategists have ruled out any changes. I understand.

Government officials said concerns about the increased burden of the measure, introduced by the coalition government in the 2010 budget, were dispelled in the 10th Budget.

Some Tory MPs and campaigners, who will hold upcoming by-elections in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth, have expressed fear that abandoning the policy would cost the party big losses at the polling station. The triple lock has been seen as key to securing the Conservative Party’s “silver vote” in the past four general elections.

“Rising wages and inflation have made this a very expensive measure, and the political cost of scrapping it will be even higher,” the official said. It’s suicidal.”

Outline plans to tackle funding issues for social care for older people have also been quietly shelved for fear of repeating the “dementia tax” debacle that derailed Prime Minister Theresa May’s 2017 election campaign. Ta.

The decision follows a dramatic week in which the Prime Minister overturned the government’s net zero green policy, hinted at reforms to A-levels and smoking policy, and suggested cuts to the HS2 rail project, as the party heads into the presidential election. revitalized. A conference will be held in Manchester next week.

Under the existing system, the full state pension is £203.85 a week, an increase of 10.1% this year, but will rise to £221.20 next year. This means that your annual payment of £11,501 is now approaching £12,570 in tax.

A one percentage point rise in the state pension equates to an extra £900m bill for Jeremy Hunt’s Treasury. Mr Hunt’s room for maneuver increased slightly last week when inflation fell by 0.1% to 6.7%, prompting the Bank of England to keep interest rates at 5.25%.

The Prime Minister has come under pressure from Labor and the SNP for refusing to commit to the Triple Lock and has refused to confirm whether the policy will be included in the next Conservative party manifesto. Charities had also warned that Mr Sunak was putting millions of votes at risk by not keeping his promises.

The news that the Prime Minister will continue to honor price rises comes as he also faces a decision on whether to cut HS2 by scrapping the second stage of high-speed rail from Birmingham to Manchester and ending it at Old Oak Common in London. brought to . 6 miles west of Euston, the planned destination.

The move, aimed at saving £34bn, has been criticized by former prime ministers Boris Johnson and David Cameron, with Mr Johnson saying the project had been “ruined” by the Treasury. Ta. Last night London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the project would be a “huge waste of public money” if the last few miles were halted.

He claimed the measures would lead to longer journey times, saying in a “best case” scenario the journey time from Birmingham to Euston would be one hour and 22 minutes, one minute longer than currently scheduled.

A government spokesperson said: “We are fully committed to the triple lock.”As in the normal process, the Secretary of State [for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride] In the autumn, we will carry out a statutory annual review of benefits and the state pension using the latest available data, and we do not intend to get ahead of ourselves with that. We do not comment on speculation regarding future manifesto commitments. ”