The Prime Minister could go into the next general election with a plan to scrap the triple lock to fund social care
Prime Minister Andy Burnham wants to create a National Care Service (Image: Getty)
Prime Minister Andy Burnham wants to create a National Care Service, so that people get free social care without being forced to hand over their savings or sell their homes. It sounds like a great idea, but of course it has to be paid for somehow.
One option that many people and think tanks are urging the Prime Minister to consider is axing the state pension triple lock. At the moment, the triple lock policy ensures that pensions rise each year in line with inflation, average earnings growth or 2% – whichever is higher.
Darren Jones, the former chief secretary to the Treasury, is among those calling for an end to the pensions guarantee. And Lord Blunkett, a former Labour Home Secretary, said: “The honest truth is that there is an extremely good intellectual case for ending the triple lock, but it needs to be done this side of an election.”
The most likely scenario, however, is that the Government sticks with the triple lock for now – but goes into the next election saying it will scrap the policy if it wins.
The big question then would be how voters will react.
What is clear is that we won’t know for certain how Mr Burnham plans to fund his social care revolution for some time.
He has asked Baroness Casey, a former civil servant who was already reviewing social care, to look into funding. Mr Burnham said he will “lay out a broad direction” and then Baroness Casey will “help me work up the details that we will put to cross-party talks, because we do have to build consensus.”
It remains to be seen whether any sort of consensus is possible but one way or another, we will have to wait before we learn exactly what Mr Burnham plans.