36,340 pensioners in York hit by Conservative broken promise on triple lock

The Liberal Democrats have published figures showing that 36,340 of State Pensioners in York are set to be impacted by the Government breaking its manifesto promise and suspending the triple lock on pensions.

The state pension triple lock is a rule that means the state pension must rise each year in line with the highest of three possible figures, inflation, average earnings or 2.5%.

A vote in Parliament on the issue earlier last week saw Conservative MPs, including Julian Sturdy MP, vote to suspend the triple lock, with all Labour MPs abstaining. This is yet another broken manifesto commitment to keep the triple lock in place until 2024, and comes just weeks after Boris Johnson led his Conservative MPs to vote for a promise breaking tax hike on National Insurance. The Liberal Democrats have warned that the Conservatives are “turning their back on local elderly residents,” many of whom are living in poverty.

The figures, based on analysis by the House of Commons Library, also show that 11,1% pensioners in the area are benefiting from state Pension Credit, which is given to the poorest pensioners.

The Liberal Democrats tabled an amendment in Parliament to the Social Security Bill that called for additional support to address the impact of the pandemic on the two million pensioners currently living in poverty and making the uplift to Universal Credit permanent.

Councillor Nigel Ayre, Executive Member for Finance and Performance, commented:

“This is yet another broken promise from the Conservatives that will hit those struggling the most hardest.

“The Government is turning its back on thousands of elderly residents, who risk no longer being able to heat their homes this winter as energy costs spiral.

“The triple lock was a cast iron guarantee that vulnerable elderly people were relying on and the Government have failed them. Alongside the universal credit cut and increases to National Insurance it is the most vulnerable residents across York who are being impacted by this Government’s disastrous decisions.”