Karin Smyth, MP for Bristol South, has today (8 November 2022) voted for an Opposition Day debate motion to protect the Pension Triple Lock and see it raise by inflation.
Abandoning the 2019 Conservative Manifesto commitment to the triple lock on state pensions for the second year in a row could leave 15,379 pensioners in Bristol South constituency £919.09 worse off on average, according to new analysis published today.
New analysis from the House of Commons Library, commissioned by Labour, shows that pensioners in Bristol South face an average cut of £411.05 in 2023/24 if the Conservatives’ manifesto commitment to the triple lock is broken again when pensions are uprated in April 2023.
The loss is even larger when considering what the state pension would have been had the triple lock not already been broken in 2022. Taking this into account, pensioners in Bristol South could be £919.09 worse off overall, compared to what the state pension would have been if the triple lock were applied in 2022 and 2023.
This proposed cut to pensioners income comes following the disastrous Mini Budget which saw the value of the pound plummet and the cost of borrowing skyrocket.
The cumulative impact of this cut would see £14.1 million taken out of the local economy.
Karin Smyth, MP for Bristol South, said:
“The Conservative Party promised everyone that the Pension Triple Lock would be protected if they won the 2019 General Election. Only six months ago the Prime Minister, when he was Chancellor, said he would protect the Pension Triple Lock. However, since the Tories tanked the economy rumours have swirled as Conservative MPs have floated the idea of scrapping the link between uprating pensions with inflation.
“We cannot allow this promise to be broken. I have voted to save the Pension Triple Lock because the Tory Government is looking to balance the books on the backs of those who can least afford it. They made a dangerous gamble with the economy and now want pensioners to pay for it. This is unacceptable.
“Pensions should not be cut. I’m deeply worried about pensioner poverty rising under this Tory Government. It’s clear only a Labour Government would protect the Pension Triple Lock. We know that those who paid in and have done the right thing should be supported in their retirement.”