Liz Truss says she is ‘completely committed’ to the pensions triple lock at make or break PMQs

Liz Truss has said she is “completely committed” to the pensions triple lock at a make-or-break PMQs in the Commons on Wednesday.

That means pensions should rise in line with inflation – currently running at a rate of 10.1%.

The triple lock was introduced on state pensions in 2010 by David Cameron’s coalition government and guarantees pensions will not lose value in real terms by increasing by the greatest of these three:

• Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI
• 2.5%
• or the average wage increase.

In the Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto, it said it would keep the triple lock in place but that was suspended during the pandemic due to the unusually large rise in average earnings after the government’s furlough scheme ended.

The government earlier this year pledged to restore the triple lock from April 2023 but after Ms Truss’ many U-turns on Monday this was in question.

Today’s PMQs was the first since new chancellor Jeremy Hunt performed U-turns on Monday on almost all of the tax cuts announced in the mini-budget three weeks before.

It is also only Ms Truss’s third time facing opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer across the despatch box since becoming PM in early September.

The government’s position on several points have changed after Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked as chancellor and Mr Hunt replaced him, proceeding to ditch most of Ms Truss’ campaign pledges after the markets reacted badly to the mini-budget.

A growing number of Tory MPs and members are now clamouring for Ms Truss to resign over the crisis as they fear she will not be able to successfully lead them through a general election.