Andy Burnham is set to lay the groundwork for the eventual scrapping of the triple lock on state pensions, it has been reported.
On Tuesday afternoon, Burnham will use his keynote speech on Tuesday afternoon to vow to be honest with voters about his aim to change Britain.
The Telegraph reports that this will include a signal that the triple lock could be ditched in the coming years.
It is expected that Burnham will announce money saved by scrapping the triple lock, which guarantees that the state pension goes up by at least 2.5% every year, will be used to help fund a new national care service for the elderly.
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Cabinet ministers have insisted the government will stick to its manifesto pledge to keep the triple lock in this parliament. However, it seems increasingly likely that this is not a pledge that will be in Labour’s next election manifesto, whenever that may be.
Financial experts and policy think tanks are in widespread agreement that the triple lock is not sustainable for the UK economy, something we have also previously argued.
Earlier this month, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said the government will at some point ‘have to move away’ from the policy because the policy is too expensive and unpredictable.
Elsewhere in his speech, Burnham is set to announce a new government body to invest in Britain’s electricity grid and plans to tackle youth unemployment.
His key message will be this – things have to change to get hope back.
The prime minister will say: “We can’t carry on as we are. Politics as usual has taken Britain backwards.
“More of the same isn’t good enough and isn’t going to get us where we need to be.”
The PM is expected to promise to build a “Britain where people feel the country has their back again” after the “flawed thinking of the last 40 years.”
Burnham will say he plans to outline a “more serious prospectus for Britain than people have been offered in a generation” which he believes “can turn Britain around.”