Labour will take no lessons from the Conservative Party on pensions

By Chris Leslie and Gregg McClymont

Last week Ed Miliband and Ed Balls set out how this government’s failure on living standards, growth and the deficit means Labour will face a difficult inheritance in 2015.

We will need to turn things around on growth and living standards and deal with the deficit in a fairer and more balanced way. We will have an iron discipline on spending and a relentless focus on our priorities. And we will reform social security in a way that’s rooted in Labour’s values – through a compulsory jobs guarantee, shifting spending from housing benefit to bricks and mortar and steps to better reward contribution even when there’s less money around.

The Tories have been all over the place working out how to respond – with different and contradictory lines in the space of a few minutes. And you can tell they’re getting desperate when they have this week told their MPs to try to scaremonger on the future of the state pension.

Let’s be absolutely clear. Labour is committed to the triple lock which means the state pension rises by the increase in average earnings, prices or 2.5 per cent – whichever is higher.

And we’ll take no lessons from a Conservative Party which only a few weeks ago introduced the so called ‘granny tax’ – changes to the age-related allowance which mean 3.6m pensioners are losing £68 a year and 360,000 people turning 65 this year are losing £268.

But it is right that we ensure social security costs are properly monitored and controlled over the long-term. As Ed Balls has said it would be hardly be long term thinking to exclude overall spending on pensioners and the impact of an ageing society from any sensible and long-term fiscal plan to monitor and control structural social security spending.

That’s why we have supported increases in the retirement age as people live longer. It’s also why we have said that, at a time when the services pensioners rely on like the NHS and social care are under such pressure, it cannot be a priority to continue paying the winter fuel allowance to the richest five per cent of pensioners.

We will look at the details of the government’s cap when it is announced in the spending review as we develop the details of our own. But David Cameron needs to explain why he has given millionaires a tax cut and wants to continue paying the winter fuel allowance to the very richest, while millions of pensioners on middle and low incomes have been hit by his VAT rise, the granny tax and cuts to social care.

And instead of spreading untruths the Conservatives should be looking at the impact of their own policies. Their new flat rate pension is a good idea which Labour proposed in office. But the Government’s plan is half a reform. The Bill cannot succeed unless Britons subsequently save more into private pensions to ensure a comfortable retirement. But this will not happen unless the Government restores public confidence in the private pensions industry.

Labour will put down amendments to ensure private pensions people can trust. The Tories should be focused on getting their pensions policy right, not making things up about ours.

Chris Leslie is the shadow financial secretary to the Treasury and Gregg McClymont is the shadow pensions minister