The decision raises some interesting questions...
What’s the triple lock again?
It’s a commitment to increase the level of the state pension applicable to any given individual by either the rate of inflation (as measured by the consumer prices index); the rate at which wages are going up; or 2.5 per cent, whichever is the greater. It has been policy, with one temporary suspension, since 2010, when the idea – which the Liberal Democrats came up with – was incorporated into the policies of the coalition government and the Conservatives adopted it as their own.
Why has Hunt said this now?
That the Tory policy on the triple lock has been decided at this stage suggests that work on the Conservatives’ election manifesto is very far advanced – which implies in turn that a May election was, at one point, a realistic possibility. Now that it isn’t, Hunt has decided to announce the policy anyway and maximise the political advantage it gives him with the “grey vote”. He wants to get the good news out asap.
It also has the effect of once again wrong-footing Labour, who haven’t yet decided what to do and therefore sound evasive when asked to say whether they would match the Tory promise. Keir Starmer will only go as far as to declare: “We will have to see what the state of the economy is as we go into the election. We will publish all of our plans as we go in, and answer that question, but I believe in the triple lock.”
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 26, 2024 من The Independent.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 26, 2024 من The Independent.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Mbappe signs off PSG era in the most fitting of ways
It was too late but Kylian Mbappe didn't know that. The final whistle was sufficiently close that there would not have been time for Paris Saint-Germain to score two goals. They didn't get one: Mbappe, sprinting clear, lost his footing. It was his final contribution to his hometown club in the Champions League and a symbolic moment. PSG slipped up. Again.
Remarkable Real comeback in classic semi-final clash
Real Madrid won 4-3 on aggregate
One for the road: BrewDog founder Watt quits top role
Controversial beer boss James Watt is stepping down from the top job at BrewDog 17 years after he co-founded the Scottish brewer.
The end is in sight for this delightful, twisted creation
The ninth and (sadly) final series of Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's 'Inside No 9' anthology is here, writes Sean O'Grady, with a whole new menagerie of oddballs
How Scorsese helped save Britain's most important filmmakers from obscurity
Thelma Schoonmaker, the legendary director's long-term editor, speaks with James Mottram about their mission to restore the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Cross the line: how young people killed the phone call.
As a survey reveals that a quarter of people aged between 18 and 34 would never dare answer the phone, Olivia Petter asks if our anxiety means we're missing out on real intimacy
Can you offer some tips for visiting the Cinque Terre?
Q I am going from Pisa to do the Cinque Terre, walking from one end to the other.
Why blood tests for cancer could soon become a reality
Leah Hardy on eight breakthroughs in the fight against the deadly disease, including lung cancer jabs and AI diagnosis
Boeing 767 scrapes runway as front landing gear fails
A plane made a dramatic emergency landing at Istanbul airport after its front landing gear failed.
Hong Kong pro-democracy anthem banned by court
A Hong Kong appeals court has granted the government's request to ban the popular protest song \"Glory to Hong Kong\", overturning a previous ruling.