Please refresh the page or go to another page of the site for automatic login. Refresh your browser to login
A senior member of the Labor shadow cabinet said Rishi Sunak’s rejection of the “triple lock” of public pension protection should be the trigger for an early election.
Since taking office on Tuesday, Mr. Sunak has opposed a pledge by his predecessor, Liz Truss, to maintain the triple lockdown, which would require an increase in inflation-adjusted pensions, median income, or a maximum of 2.5%.
It was clear in Downing Street that remedies dating back to the David Cameron administration were “on the table” in Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s autumn 17 November statement on the government’s plans for taxes and spending. After that, the elderly activists expressed their concern.
Breaking the inflationary bond would give £3bn to £5bn to fill the £40bn black hole in the national treasury, but campaigners see it as a betrayal.
Now, Wes Streeting says that abandoning that key promise of the Conservatives’ latest manifesto would fundamentally undermine Mr. Sunak’s claim to a seat in the 2019 election.
“I’m not sure this government will agree to a triple lock,” Streeting said during a lunch in Westminster.
“But this is yet another example of the Conservative Party’s seeming willingness to break its promise in the manifesto.
“If the conservatives’ argument is that ‘what we promised in our last manifesto, we can no longer afford it because our economy has collapsed,’ then I think it’s their duty to go back to the electorate and ask them to allow them to carry out plans to repair the damage they have caused.
His comments came as an Independent petition calling for an early election surpassed 450,000 signatures.
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer called on the country to decide who should lead the government after a second change of prime minister in two months.
Mr. Streeting said today that Mr. Sunak’s departure from Boris Johnson’s 2019 plans left the prime minister without a mandate to make the changes he wanted to make.
“The 2019 manifesto they insisted on cannot be delivered,” the shadow health minister said. “They broke their promises left, right and in the middle.
“If he wants to fix the mess his party has created, he should at least politely ask permission from the British people. The public should have a say in the general election.”
Mr. Streeting said Mr. Sunak’s promise to “fix” Ms. Truss’s mistakes at least showed that he was aware of the “serious damage to the Conservative Party’s brand due to the chaos of the past 12 months.”
But he said any chance to convince voters that he could solve the problems caused by his predecessor was undermined by his choice of a cabinet made up of familiar faces from the Johnson and Truss governments.
“His choice … shows that he is too weak to make a difference,” Streeting said. “Instead of putting together a new team using the best minds of the Tory Party, he appeases his own faction with a dirty deal.
“First the party, then the country. How else can you explain the return of the Minister of the Interior [Suella Breiverman], who resigned due to security threats?”
After the turmoil of recent months, Mr. Streeting shrugged off speculation that Mr. Sunak could restore public confidence in the Conservative Party as the national treasurer.
“Rishi Sunak is one of many conservative prime ministers who have saddled our country for more than a decade with failed economic policies, as they put it, that led to high taxes and low growth,” he said.
“Rishi Sunak cannot solve the cost of living crisis because he contributed to it.
“It worries me that he is dangerously out of touch with reality, making decisions for people he has never experienced and people he will never understand—decisions that make them poorer, not richer.
“Ideological dogma can lead to economic collapse on small budgets, but more than a decade of failed conservative economic policies have taken their toll on workers.
“Now Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are talking about fixing the mess their parties have created and the difficult choices they will face in doing so. bills and higher taxes.”
- It is a simple and basic principle that the democratic legitimacy of government comes from the people. The future of the nation should not be determined by Westminster intrigues and reversals, it should be determined by the people in general elections. For this reason, The Independent called for an election. Click here to comment and sign our campaign petition.
By registering, you also get limited access to premium articles, exclusive newsletters, reviews and virtual events with our top journalists.
By clicking “Create my account” you confirm that your details have been entered correctly and that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use, Cookie Policy and Privacy Statement.
By clicking “Register”, you confirm that your details have been entered correctly and that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use, Cookie Policy and Privacy Statement.
By registering, you also get limited access to premium articles, exclusive newsletters, reviews and virtual events with our top journalists.
By clicking “Create My Account” you confirm that your details have been entered correctly and that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use, Cookie Policy and Privacy Statement.
By clicking “Register”, you confirm that your details have been entered correctly and that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use, Cookie Policy and Privacy Statement.
Want to bookmark your favorite articles and stories for later reading or links? Start your offline premium subscription today.
Please refresh the page or go to another page of the site for automatic login. Refresh your browser to login
Post time: Oct-28-2022