State pension triple lock petition by Express on course for 50k

Furious OAP rages at triple lock broken promise

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More than 40,000 people have signed the Express’s petition calling on Rishi Sunak to protect the state pension triple lock. The campaign was launched by our newspaper alongside Silver Voices, a campaign group for over 60s, just five days ago after it emerged the triple lock was under threat again with millions of pensioners at risk of being left worse off.

Some 40,000 people had added their names to the petition by Tuesday lunchtime and it is on course to hit 50,000 within days.

Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, said today: “Ministers are still threatening the future of the triple lock so it is imperative for our petition to gain more signatures in the next week.

“All working people deserve a decent state pension when they retire, as all other developed countries provide.”

The triple lock sees state pensions rise in line with whichever is highest of 2.5 percent, wages and inflation.

Around 12.5 million people who receive the state pension could face a real-terms cut in earnings if their payments do not rise in line with soaring inflation, which is currently at around 10 percent.

The policy was suspended last year meaning pensioners received a 3.1 percent increase, less than they would have done under the triple lock.

But question marks hang over whether the triple lock – a pledge in the 2019 Tory manifesto – will be ditched in April 2023 for a second year running as the Prime Minister looks to plug a black hole in the nation’s finances.

Last month, Mr Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss insisted she was committed to the policy after fury when No 10 suggested it may be axed.

But fresh questions have been raised since Mr Sunak became PM last week.

Age UK has hit out at the U-turns over the triple lock, warning of the impact of the confusion on older people.

The charity’s director Caroline Abrahams said: “There have been so many twists and turns over the Government’s public approach to the triple lock that it has been hard to know whether to laugh or cry.

“Certainly, to renege on it again would be a low blow for older people and would undoubtedly diminish their sense of trust in our political leaders.

“The constant flip-flopping over the triple lock in the last few weeks has been upsetting and destabilising for them, especially for those on low incomes who are already deeply concerned about how they will make ends meet as inflation reduces their purchasing power.

“They need certainty over how much money they can expect to have coming in, and as soon as possible.

“It is important to remember that the Conservative party made a manifesto promise to uphold the triple lock and anything less than this would mean a real-terms cut in the state pension, which is only worth on average about £9000 a year, yet comprises the bulk of the income for most older people in our country.

“Older people told Age UK during the summer that restoring the triple lock was their top priority for an incoming Prime Minister, and against this context and with the prices of everyday items continuing to rise it’s easy to see why.”

Sign the petition here.

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