Mel Stride (Image: Getty)
Pensioners should be “extremely worried” that a Labour government would raid their hard-earned pensions and benefits, Mel Stride has warned.
The Work and Pensions Secretary said the party would betray retirees as he warned of a repeat of 1997 when Gordon Brown targeted pensions.
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He said that Labour has repeatedly failed to categorically rule out means testing pensioner benefits, such as the winter fuel allowance.
Mr Stride said Sir Keir Starmer’s refusal to match the Tories “Triple Lock Plus” will drag state pensioners into paying income tax for the first time in history.
Speaking exclusively to the Express Mr Stride warned that voters will “never forget” Mr Brown's ￡118 billion raid on pension funds.
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“They should be extremely worried. What Labour has done is they have categorically ruled a small number of taxes,” he said.
“However, when they are asked about other taxes outside of that group they don’t categorically rule them out.
“They use all sorts of other words which basically means they are still on the table. We know they have a vast, multi-billion pound, set of spending plans and we know within their own plans in the manifesto they have significant increases in spending.
“And all that is going to lead to having to raise more taxes and pensioners is one of the areas they go for, I’m very confident of that.
“If you look at the last Labour government, Gordon Brown came in and he raided pensions to the tune of ￡118 billion.
“That was a government that then gave state pensioners a 75p increase and we ended up with the fourth highest level of pensioner poverty in Europe.”
Mr Stride, who is battling to hold onto the Central Devon seat he has held since 2010, vowed the Conservative’s “will always” champion older people.
He said the Tory Party has lifted 200,000 pensioners out of poverty, introduced the Triple Lock and promised a Triple Lock Plus if they stay in power.
Gordon Brown (Image: Getty)
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“What we can expect from Labour is a ‘triple assault’ on pensioners,” he said.
“They will impose a “Retirement Tax”, by not honouring his Triple Lock Plus, meaning the new state pension will be dragged into income tax for the first time in history.
“I’m sure they will take away the benefit of being able to withdraw 25 per cent of your personal pension pot tax-free and they haven't categorically ruled out means testing benefits like Winter Fuel Payments, free prescriptions, free bus passes and free TV licences.”
The Tory veteran conceded that Labour could be heading for a “record” landslide victory following Thursday’s national vote.
“What matters now is are we going to be able to hold that government to account properly. “The concern is that the majority may be so large that there is no effective opposition.”
“I am deeply worried and that is why if there is going to be a great big Labour majority we do have a strong opposition to make the case for pensioners in parliament.”
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Mr Brown scrapped tax relief on dividends paid into pension funds in his first Budget in 1997 at a time when many funds were in surplus.
His policy – sprung on the public weeks after the election landslide – was blamed for killing off private-sector defined benefit pension schemes.
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