Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was accused of plotting to leave pensioners worse off by means testing the triple lock – which governs how much the state pension rises each year
Kemi Badenoch reveals she’s in favour of ‘means-testing’ triple-lock pensions
Kemi Badenoch has sparked fury by saying the Tories are looking at “means testing” the state pension triple lock.
The Conservative leader suggested the commitment – which guarantees the state pension will rise in line with whichever is highest of average earnings, inflation or 2.5% – was in her sights. It comes after Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride last month said the triple lock was “unsustainable” in the long term.
Ms Badenoch made the comments in response to a caller on LBC, who said some pensioners protected by the triple lock don’t need it – and questioned whether some of the cash should be spent on housing. She replied: “That’s exactly the sort of thing that police work we are going to do is going to look at.”
Presenter Iain Dale asked: “You are going to look at the triple lock?” The Tory leader responded: “We’re going to look at means testing [the triple lock]. Means testing is something which we don’t do properly here.
“I’m someone who has always said, for example, that millionaires should not be getting the winter fuel payment. But what Rachel Reeves has done is the extreme version of that, where people who are actually on the breadline have had their winter fuel payment taken away.
“We don’t have a system that knows who should get what. That’s the sort of thing that we need to be looking at.”
Ms Badenoch, who recently told her Shadow Cabinet she won’t reveal major policies for another two years, did not spell out how this would work. She said the Tories had supported the triple lock in Government over the last 14 years, but added: “We need to make sure that we are growing.”
She went on: “Starting with the triple lock is not how to solve the problem. We need to start with why are we not making the same kind of money we used to make?
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“I tell people we’ve started living off our inheritance, we’re living off the work that previous generations did. We’ve got to give something to the next generation. What are we leaving them with? That’s what we’ve got to sort out. We can’t just make ourselves comfortable now spending their future. We need to give them a future.”
Ms Badenoch, who previously called for the winter fuel allowance to be means-tested, has gone after Labour for cutting the benefit for millions of pensioners. Her comments tonight are likely to spark alarm in Tory circles.
Labour seized on her comments, saying the Tories had “let the mask slip” and would leave pensioners worse off. A spokeswoman said: “Kemi Badenoch has put pensioners on notice – she’s going to cut your state pension.
“The Labour Government has taken tough action to clean up the mess the Tories left our economy in, meaning we can guarantee a £470 cash boost for pensioners in April. The Tories have let the mask slip though and are happy to leave pensioners worse off. Yet again, the Conservatives haven’t listened and they haven’t learned.”
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said: “Bungling Badenoch has finally come up with her first new policy, slashing the state pension. The Conservatives urgently need to clarify what she meant and how many pensioners would lose out.”
