Andy Burnham has confirmed his commitment to the Triple Lock guarantee, which would see state pension payments rise to at least £12,861 per year – equating to £1,071 per month – if he becomes Prime Minister. The increase is based on the minimum possible figure under the Triple Lock mechanism, which ensures the state pension rises each year by the highest of inflation, wage growth, or 2.5%.
Triple Lock Commitment Details
Mr Burnham, widely anticipated to be the next Prime Minister, has pledged to uphold the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Triple Lock policy after Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed it would remain in place for the remainder of this Parliament. The Triple Lock was introduced in 2011 by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government and guarantees annual increases to the state pension.
Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon, confirmed to BirminghamLive: “Under the triple lock, the full state pension will increase by a minimum of 2.5 per cent in future years, meaning in 2027/28 it will be at least £12,861.”
Scope of the Triple Lock
Not all state pension payments are covered by the Triple Lock guarantee. It applies in full to the ‘New State Pension’, which started in 2016. However, millions of older pensioners receive a different amount from a combination of the Basic State Pension and additional earnings-related elements – known as SERPS or the State Second Pension (S2P). These elements are not protected by the Triple Lock.
Political Reactions and Environmental Concerns
The Triple Lock commitment comes as all eyes turn to Mr Burnham’s policies and what they could entail. Green Party leader Zack Polanski has warned Mr Burnham not to slide over eco-friendly measures. “Decades of inaction on the transition to clean energy has already put the UK way behind where we should be, with huge cost to the economy,” Polanski said. “As the country swelters under extreme heat there has never been a more prescient reminder that we simply cannot afford to keep burning fossil fuels.”
Andrea Egan, the leader of Unison, wrote this month that more drilling for fossil fuels would do nothing to help working-class people. “Climate change denial is creeping into politics like never before, with far-right parties treating fossil fuels as a panacea for the country’s problems,” Egan wrote. “Plundering the North Sea wouldn’t make a significant difference for working-class people in Britain, and it would be grossly irresponsible to working-class people in the global south.”
Steve Wright, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, highlighted that his members are on the frontline of the climate crisis, dealing with wildfires and heatwaves. He added: “We see first-hand the need for urgent climate action and that must include restrictions on drilling in the North Sea.”
