Labor will make the “difficult choice” to tax pensions to show they are “wise” with public finances, said the secretary of shadow jobs and pensions.
Jonathan Ashworth said he would reintroduce a lifetime pension savings cap because the party is “always financially responsible”.
Prime Minister Jeremy Hunt announced in his budget bill last month that caps would be abolished as part of reforms to encourage older people, especially doctors, to stay in the workforce.
But Labor has promised to restore the £1,073,100 cap, saying its abolition would only benefit the “top 1%” of workers.
Speaking to The Telegraph while campaigning in Ramsgate, Kent for local elections, Ashworth defended the decision by saying, “Taxation must be fair.”
“In politics, we have to make tough choices,” he said. “Labor has always been absolutely cautious and financially sound.”
He pointed to the financial turmoil following the autumn tax cut “mini-budget” as evidence why the Labor government should reimpose taxes.
“We’ve seen what happened under Kwasi Kwarten and Liz Truss when the government was insouciant and financially irresponsible,” he said. “We are still struggling with the consequences as millions of people will have to re-mortgage this year, paying eye-popping sums.”
Fear of racing to retire
Labor’s policy has led to warnings that there may be a “flood” of people saving into pensions today and retiring before the next general election in anticipation of rule changes.
But Ashworth downplayed such concerns. “I don’t accept people manipulating the system,” he said.
Launching his own attack on the Tories, he said Rishi Sunak had a “remarkable record of raising taxes on working people”, including freezing income tax thresholds.
“He’s always wrestling with new tax increases for working families,” he said. “I didn’t think it was a fair choice at a time when working families were paying more tax and were struggling to provide £1 billion tax cuts to the top earners.”
In her role as shadow work and pension secretary, Ashworth vowed to increase the number of people employed by incorporating career advisors into health settings such as mental health and addiction services.
During his visit to Ramsgate, Mr. Ashworth met several former criminals who helped him deal with his alcohol problem and prepare him for the job.
Helping alcoholics is a personal passion
Ashworth has been an avid campaigner on the issue of alcoholism because of his own experience of having his father, John, who died of alcoholism.
he said: something like that.
“But there are many families who don’t enjoy drinking. In my own situation, it didn’t lead to domestic violence or anything like that..
“It was just a constant feature of life growing up. I don’t want to say it was easier to manage because my father died when I was 60. I was fine with that.
He added:
In the interview, Ashworth also defended a controversial offensive ad by Labor that suggested Sunak did not want people convicted of child sex crimes to be jailed.
He said the ad was “punchy” but that it was “legitimate” to highlight the issue because “people think criminals are on the run.”
Asked about the apparent shrinkage in polls, he said he “never believed” polls showing Labor’s “very large lead” in the aftermath of the collapse of the Truss government, and that the general election was “close.” He added that it would be
He also promised that it would not mean testing different entitlements for pensioners, such as winter fuel payments, TV licenses and free bus passes.
“British retirees can be sure I have their back,” he said.
