The future of a policy that had become a hallmark of recent Conservative governments appeared in doubt after Rishi Sunak three times refused to commit to retaining it at the next election.
Sunak set hares running in his final Commons performance before party conference recess, when he was quizzed about the future of the triple lock, which guarantees pensions will rise by the higher of average earnings, inflation or 2.5%.
Some senior Tories are privately pushing for a change, fearing that its future is unsustainable on the basis that pensions are expected to rise in April 2024 faster than wages because of a delay in tracking earnings versus inflation.
After William Hague, the former Tory leader and Sunak’s former mentor, argued for a rethink, further pressure on the centre-right grew on the prime minister.
David Gauke, the former work and pensions secretary, told the BBC there would have to be “tough choices” in the face of strained public finances.
And Rupert Harrison, who sits on the government’s economic advisory council, said there should be “an independent review with cross-party support” concluding after the next election on the future of pension rises.
The original article contains 561 words, the summary contains 191 words. Saved 66%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The future of a policy that had become a hallmark of recent Conservative governments appeared in doubt after Rishi Sunak three times refused to commit to retaining it at the next election.
Sunak set hares running in his final Commons performance before party conference recess, when he was quizzed about the future of the triple lock, which guarantees pensions will rise by the higher of average earnings, inflation or 2.5%.
Some senior Tories are privately pushing for a change, fearing that its future is unsustainable on the basis that pensions are expected to rise in April 2024 faster than wages because of a delay in tracking earnings versus inflation.
After William Hague, the former Tory leader and Sunak’s former mentor, argued for a rethink, further pressure on the centre-right grew on the prime minister.
David Gauke, the former work and pensions secretary, told the BBC there would have to be “tough choices” in the face of strained public finances.
And Rupert Harrison, who sits on the government’s economic advisory council, said there should be “an independent review with cross-party support” concluding after the next election on the future of pension rises.
The original article contains 561 words, the summary contains 191 words. Saved 66%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!