Triple lock outrage as Labour blasted for failing to honour pledge for pensioners
The Prime Minister told how the Tories will "always have the backs of pensioners" after the Conservatives made the pledge weeks ago.
Rishi Sunak has blasted Labour for failing to commit to the pension triple lock in the party’s election manifesto.
Mr Sunak said: “I’m really proud of our support for pensioners. It was a Conservative government that introduced the triple lock and a Conservative Government that protected it, and a Conservative government that is committed to the triple lock in the next parliament.
"I think that may be the first commitment that we have made which I notice hasn't been matched by the Labour Party.”
The triple lock refers to the commitment to raise the state pension every year in line with whichever is highest out of wage growth, inflation or 2.5%.
In March, Mr Sunak assured the public that it will remain in place throughout the next Parliament if the Conservatives win the general election.
Labour has said only that it is “committed to retaining” the triple lock.
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Mr Sunak said: "We will always have the backs of pensioners and that's because it's about values for me and I believe in a country where if you work hard all your life, you deserve dignity in retirement. That's why we've committed to the state pension but also why the other week I was talking about veterans and making sure this is the best country in the world to be a veteran.
"For me, it's about values and how we express ourselves as a country. I think we take pride in looking after people who have worked hard all their lives. Whether it's pensioners with the triple lock or whether it's veterans who have served - those are important things to me as Prime Minister that we do properly and I'm proud of our record."
But the Prime Minister refused to say whether he would look at raising personal thresholds for pensioners to stop them being dragged into paying more tax.
He would not commit to reviewing the threshold on personal allowances before the general election.
It comes as millions of pensioners are being pulled into paying higher taxes due to recent increases in the state pension.
