ANDY Burnham has been blasted for proposing changing the triple lock on pensions rather than taxing the super-rich in order to pay for his social care plans.
During his speech at the Labour Party conference on Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced that the UK Government would change the triple lock on pensions to fund a National Care Service.
Burnham said pensions would rise either by CPI inflation or a minimum of 2.5%, removing the link to average earnings.
He said the change would generate "significant savings" while ensuring the state pension held its value relative to earnings over time.
The change to the triple lock would affect pensioners across Scotland, because state pensions are reserved to Westminster.
Addressing the conference, Burnham said: "I'll be honest, we promised in our manifesto to keep the triple lock unchanged throughout this Parliament. I will honour that promise. I will honour that promise and I will do more. That will take the state pension to a record high.
"From there, in April 2030, we will adjust it. The state pension will continue to rise every year at least by prices or 2.5%. And it will hold its value relative to earnings over time so that pensioners will always share in the rising prosperity of the nation."
In an interview on the BBC's Newsnight programme, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham criticised the plans, arguing Burnham should instead be focused on taxing the super rich.
Graham said: "I do think that going to the pensioners, pulling that lever of breaking the triple lock, I do think that is a difficulty because I don't think that is the place that you should go.
"I would have liked to have heard before we do anything on the triple lock, what we're going to do about the super rich and the wealth tax in Britain."
Graham continued: "The richest 50 families are worth £500 billion - pensioners get £12,500 pounds a year.
"They're not the super rich, so I hope it's sealed until 2030, it's there until 2030.
"I hope more discussions can be had."
Sharon Graham on Newsnight criticises Andy Burnham for going after pensioners instead of putting in place a wealth tax on the rich My view: Sharon Graham asks a valid question. Why is a Labour government going after pensioners instead of a wealth tax on the vast fortunes of… pic.twitter.com/ZWZhkbhxs3
— Farrukh (@implausibleblog) September 29, 2026
Graham previously told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme that axing the triple lock was "morally wrong" and risked repeating the unpopular removal of the Winter Fuel Payment under Keir Starmer's premiership.
