Never let us forget that the Conservative Party chose Liz Truss over Rishi Sunak, so presumably her economy busting views are more in line with theirs than his.
So in the week she ‘relaunches’ herself (yes really!) it’s worth having a listen to her as to what probably passes for mainstream Conservative thinking.
‘…the pension age must rise…’ and ‘…the pension systems needs reform…’
Wonderfully equivocal, but she means people will work longer and she wants to see an end to the ‘triple lock’ on pensions.
The 'triple lock' links the annual increase in the basic state pension to the greatest of three factors; growth in national average earnings; growth in retail prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index; or 2.5 per cent.
The triple lock was championed by the Liberal Democrats and was introduced precisely because the UK has one of the worst state pensions of any of the developed economies. Ask any pensioner living on the basic state pension (and there are millions) and they will tell you it is not some sort of fabulous give-away but the barest minimum that hardly sustains a basic subsistence.
Yes, the state pension does benefit the better-off who have personal pensions but that is not an argument for reducing the state pension it is an argument for taxation reform.
Perhaps you could ask current Pensions Minster, local Conservative MP Mr Stride, to state his unequivocal support for the triple lock and his opposition to the wild ideas of former Prime Minister (yes really!) Liz Truss.
Your sincerely,
Mark Wooding
Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Central Devon
In the week the Conservatives proudly announced the creation of thousands of virtual hospital beds more evidence emerged of them abandoning trying to fix things in the real-world.
Liberal Democrats set out ambitious plans to spend a £1 billion more supporting farming
Conservatives abandon the environment and the economy
