Older people 'out in the cold' over pensions, says Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP Jamie Stone
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North MP Jamie Stone has accused the UK government of leaving pensioners "out in the cold, with a hole in their pocket".
He says the Conservatives' decision to break a manifesto promise and scrap the triple lock on pensions will add up to a loss of income totalling over £2 million among almost 14,000 older people in his constituency.
In the wake of inflation hitting a 30-year high of 5.5 per cent in January, a typical pensioner in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross is set to see their income fall by £171.60 this year in real terms. This represents a total loss of income of £2,388,157 between 13,917 pensioners in the far north.
Analysis by Mr Stone's party, the Liberal Democrats, has shown this will wipe out the “paltry support” being offered by the government to help pensioners cope with soaring energy bills.
Even those pensioners who qualify for a council tax rebate will be left more than £20 poorer in real terms, according to the Lib Dems, while those on the new state pension will be "short-changed" by £76.20.
The Department for Work and Pensions confirmed that state pension payments will increase by 3.1 per cent from April 11.
The Lib Dems are calling on the government to guarantee a "fair" increase to the state pension. The party is also calling for a doubling and expansion to the Warm Home Discount as well as a doubling of the Winter Fuel Payment.
Mr Stone said: “In breaking their manifesto promise and failing to protect the state pension, the Conservatives have plunged older people in the far north into the depths of a cost-of-living crisis. Their paltry support doesn’t even begin to cover the additional costs people are facing during this cold and bitter winter.
“Pensioners are among the most vulnerable people in the Highlands. This out-of-touch government has left them out in the cold, with a hole in their pocket and even harsher days ahead.
“It’s high time the government showed some common sense and ensured a fair increase to the state pension. But we also need to see something much more ambitious to help pensioners in my constituency.
"Doubling the Warm Home Discount and Winter Fuel Payment, funded through a Robin Hood tax on the super-profits of oil and gas giants, would be a good place to start.”
The UK government announced in November that the earnings element of the triple lock was being suspended for one year only.
"In taking this decision, the government carefully considered the fairest approach for both pensioners and younger taxpayers, many of whom have been hardest hit by the financial impacts of the pandemic," it said.
"In addition, last year, we delivered primary legislation to increase state pensions by 2.5 per cent, when earnings fell and price inflation increased by half a percentage point. If we hadn’t taken this action, state pensions would have been frozen.
"This is a one-year response to exceptional circumstances."
