Toynbee Urges £12.6bn Pension Lock Reform Over Welfare Cuts to Fund UK Defence
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 15
Toynbee Urges £12.6bn Pension Lock Reform Over Welfare Cuts to Fund UK Defence
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 15
Summary
£12.6 billion could be saved by 2029 if the state pension rose with earnings rather than the triple lock, Polly Toynbee argues, instead of cutting working-age welfare to pay for higher defence spending.
MoD waste is her other target: she cites the £6 billion Ajax vehicle program running eight years late, Dreadnought submarines delayed by 10 years, and aircraft carriers that cost twice their original price.
Resolution Foundation analysis she cites says non-pensioner welfare, once accounting changes are corrected, is roughly back to mid-1990s levels, undermining claims that benefits are the main driver of spending growth.
Defence spending is promised to reach 3% of GDP in the 2030s, while the benefits bill is projected at 4.3% by decade-end in an older, sicker society, framing a funding debate Toynbee says should not fall on the poorest.