Burnham Pledges To Scrap Tory Pension Triple Lock To Fund New 'National Care Service'

Andy Burnham has announced plans to scrap the Tories’ state pensions triple lock to fund his plans for a “national care service”. 

The prime minister said he would amend the way the policy works and plough the money saved into improving better care for Britain’s elderly.

Under the current rules introduced by David Cameron’s government, the state pension goes up every year by either the rate of inflation, average wages or 2.5%, whichever is higher.

In his speech to the Labour conference in Liverpool, Burnham said that from April 2030, pensions will still go up by inflation or 2.5%.

But in a major shift, he ditched the third element of the Tory triple lock and would only confirm that the pension would “hold its value relative to earnings over time”.

Burnham said: “This change will generate significant savings which we will use to build up our national care service.”

It is unclear how much money the new-style triple lock will actually save, however.

Low-income pensioners won’t be dragged into paying income tax in this parliament either, according to Burnham.

The prime minister acknowledged he “may pay a political price” for this plan, but insisted someone has to “rip the plaster off”.

Burnham also appealed directly to the care sector, saying: “You are not invisible to me.

“I see you, I thank you, and I am sorry my profession has let down yours for so long.”

“Support has been cut away for young and old and that leaves the country paying for failure on a grand scale,” the PM said.

“We can’t afford to carry on like this,” Burnham noted as he called for “a new social contract for the 21st Century”.

He said past politicians, including himself, have been “too cowardly to fix something as basic as the care we give each other”.

The policy announcement is part of the prime minister’s wider bid to “break the mould” by saying he would not be following “politics as usual”.

Burnham also began his speech to the hall by promising he would say “the things politicians usually avoid”.

The prime minister said: “Today we draw a line on a decade of division. We stop doomscrolling on posts running Britain down and we put the country on a new path.”

“Britain with belief again, people with hope again.”

Burnham said: “That sense of the powers that be, pulling against the people, not with them. If there’s one thing that I want to put right, it’s that.

“Imagine living in a Britain where people feel the country has got their back again. A Britain for everyone no matter who we are, or where we are born. We would be unstoppable. And we will be.”

He also noted that he was 10 weeks into his premiership and delivered a dig at Liz Truss by adding: “Not all of my predecessors have been able to say that.”

He targeted his rivals on the right, too, saying: “The British right talk about taking back control – never forget that they are the ones who gave it away in the first place.”

He even extended his thanks to Keir Starmer, who was ousted from office by disillusioned MPs in the summer.

Burnham said: “For his historic victory he achieved for us [in 2024], I’m here to say thank you Keir.”

In a flurry of policy announcements, the prime minister announced a repeal of Margaret Thatcher’s ideological ban on public ownership of water companies as well and vowed to give councils the power to make compulsory purchases of empty homes.

He announced a new publicly-owned “Great British Grid” as well to maximise and speed up the rollout of renewables across the UK.

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