. This tax was subsequently axed by Truss and has not – yet – been undone by Hunt. As the triple lock on state pensions was guaranteed in the manifesto, ditching it would be the second pledge broken by Sunak. Then there is the reason the triple lock – and its perceived unfairness – is so rarely addressed by the Tories: changing the state pension uplift will directly impact a demographic that the Conservative party relies on most heavily to get its candidates first past the post. However, its political toxicity aside, there is a compelling case to scrap the policy. It became clear last year that the triple lock's function – and the guaranteed uplifts it provides – were unable to cope with any economic event out of the ordinary. Indeed, Sunak himself suspended the triple lock for 2022-23 during his time as chancellor, as it became clear that the state pension was in line for a huge increase solely because wage growth numbers were artificially flattered by a big recovery from their lockdown collapse. But perhaps even more telling is that the t){kind=link}
Vulnerable pensioners must be protected, but the 27pc of retired people who are millionaires should share in the country’s financial pain
Severe fiscal pain is on the way. This is not really up for debate.
Rishi Sunak made clear on the steps of Downing Street this week that his role as Prime Minister is to fix the “mistakes” made during Liz Truss’s record-short premiership, which would involve “difficult decisions”. Read: spending cuts and tax rises.
Despite a dramatic fall in the cost of borrowing since Sunak’s arrival in No10, the Treasury is rolling the pitch for extreme action.
There are reports out of Whitehall that Sunak and Hunt may in fact need to find more than expected – perhaps up to £50bn – as the Office for Budget Responsibility’s growth forecasts are predicted to be extremely low.