Pensions Triple Lock

Andrew Lewin Excerpts

Tuesday 13th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the needs of rural pensioners. The changes that this Government have made will result in energy bills £150 lower than they otherwise would have been. We have also put forward special help to local authorities in areas where large amounts of people are reliant on home heating oil. We have said that we will remove VAT from electricity bills, and we will continue to do what we can to help households with the rises in energy bills, which are caused by external geopolitical events.

[Andrew Lewin (Welwyn Hatfield) (Lab)]

I congratulate the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister on having the courage to grasp this issue. I was saddened, but not surprised, by the response from the Opposition Front Bench. However, there may be cause for hope, because the Father of the House, the right hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh), who is not in his place, has been a consistent advocate of reform of the triple lock, proving the maxim that wisdom comes with age. Will the Secretary of State confirm that, under our adjusted triple lock, pensioner poverty will continue to fall in the 2030s and beyond?

[Pat McFadden]

I very much agree with my hon. Friend that wisdom comes with age. It is not a view I used to hold, but I am warming to it as the years go past—[Hon. Members: “Mr Ponzi scheme is here!”] I welcome to the Opposition Front Bench the shadow Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for Tonbridge (Tom Tugendhat), who of course referred to the triple lock as a Ponzi system.