Voters’ fury at Tories’ raid on pensions
Wriggling Tories refuse to admit plans for pensions and raids on pay packets as PM does vanishing act
THERESA MAY is facing a huge voter backlash amid fears that she will hike taxes and target pension payments after the election.
A new poll shows nearly a third of people are less likely to support the Tories following Mrs May’s refusal to rule out tax rises or back the triple-lock on pensions.
The resounding thumbs-down for the Prime Minister came as she dodged the press, public and awkward questions yesterday by doing a disappearing act.
Instead, she sent out floundering ministers to face the music. But they failed to give direct answers to the thorny issues when tackled on TV and radio.
Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green and Tory chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin both lamely wriggled through interviews by saying the public would have to “wait for the manifesto”.
Scrapping the pensions guarantee could see Britain return to the dark days when payments to the elderly sometimes rose by just a few pence each year.
Countless Tory chancellors from Geof- frey Howe to George Osborne have been quick to clobber hard-pressed families with hikes in VAT after election victories.
“A Tory election win would come with a huge price tag,” Labour’s campaign chairman Andrew Gwynne told the Mirror.
“The people picking up the bill won’t be the well-off. It will be pensioners and those working hard to make ends meet, with the threat of lower pensions and higher taxes. Britain can’t afford the Tories.”
On Saturday the Mirror told how Mrs May had failed to rule out scrapping the triplelock, which ensures pensions rise by a decent amount each year, while Chancellor Philip Hammond hinted at higher VAT and other taxes. In contrast, Labour said it would keep the pensions protection and warned of a “Tory tax bombshell”.
Yesterday a Survation poll showed fears over pensions and tax is turning voters off supporting the party on June 8.
The survey found 28% of people are less likely to vote Tory because of the possible attack on pensions, compared to just 17% who are more likely to do so. And 27% of voters are less likely to vote Tory over tax rise fears, compared with 16% who are more likely to do so.
There was no sign of Mrs May or Chancellor Hammond on the campaign trail yesterday as pressure mounted for the party to change course.
The PM has done just one press event and no proper TV interviews since announcing the election last Tuesday. In her absence yesterday ministers Mr Green and Sir Patrick were trundled out for grillings.
But they failed to rule out scrapping the triple lock, which guarantees pensions rise every year in line with earnings, prices or 2.5% – whichever is the highest.
Asked by Sky’s Sophy Ridge if the Tories would ditch the policy “Yes or No”, Mr Green flailed: “You’ll have to wait for the manifesto for details of our policies.
“But I’m quite happy for people to inspect our record on pensions.”
Sir Patrick gave a near-identical answer when asked if his party will stick with
You’ll have to wait for the manifesto for details.. inspect our record on pensions DAMIAN GREEN TORY WORK AND PENSIONS SECRETARY
We’ll see what the manifesto says when it is published.. But look at our record SIR PATRICK MCLOUGHLIN TORY PARTY CHAIRMAN
Cameron’s 2015 pledge not to raise VAT, income tax or national insurance.
He said: “We’ll see what the manifesto says when it is published. But look at our record. It has always been as a low tax party.” Sir Patrick later revealed his differences with the Chancellor over taxation issues.
Asked by the BBC’s Andrew Neil whether he agreed with Mr Hammond that the Tories’ 2015 pledge not to raise taxes “constrained the ability to manage the economy flexibly”, Sir Patrick replied: “No.”
Pressed to clarify that he did, in fact, disagree with Mr Hammond, he said: “Well, Philip has expressed his view as to what he would like.”
But while the polls were positive for Labour on tax and pensions, they were much grimmer when it came to the wider race for Downing Street.
The same Survation poll had the Tories well out on front on 40%, with Labour trailing badly at 29%. Other polls suggested the Tory lead is even bigger and that Mrs May remains on course for a landslide victory. The polls also suggest Labour could be wiped out altogether in Scotland, with the SNP and Tories cleaning up.
Leader Jeremy Corbyn will head north of the border today to try to boost his party’s support, saying Labour will “fight for every seat in every corner of these isles”.
The Mirror revealed last week that, given the dire state of the polls, Labour chiefs say privately their “No1 priority” is to deny Mrs May a majority.
They hope they can cut a post-election deal in a hung Parliament with other Opposition parties to form a minority Labour government. But yesterday Lib Dem leader Tim Farron ruled that option out, seeking to assure voters there will be no repeat of Nick Clegg’s actions in 2010, when the Lib Dems worked with the Tories in governDavid ment. He said: “We talk to other parties. But deals and arrangements, pacts, coalitions – all those are off the table.”
Mr Farron accused Mrs May of “misrepresenting the will of the people” over Brexit and said he could not support Mr Corbyn because he told Labour MPs to back Article 50.
Meanwhile, it emerged Mrs May plans to shamelessly steal Ed Miliband’s signature policy of a cap on energy bills, four years after the Tories called it “dangerous Marxism”.
Mr Miliband was repeatedly attacked for pledging to cap bills to help families.
But in an act of hypocrisy the Tories now say they will order regulator Ofgem to set a maximum price for the tariffs used by seven out of 10 customers.
Mr Miliband joked last night the Tories were “in for a kicking” over the U-turn.
Those picking up the bill will not be the well-off... We can’t afford the Tories ANDREW GWYNNE LABOUR ELECTION CAMPAIGN CHIEF
THERESA May can run but she can’t hide all the way to June 8 after the misfiring Tory leader and her blundering Chancellor Philip Hammond were hidden yesterday from the public after a string of gaffes.
While Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was happy to answer all questions in a probing TV interview, the Conservative couple vanished from the airwaves, Tory strategists clearly rattled by mistakes.
Pride comes before a fall and this election mightn’t be as comfortably in May’s handbag as she thought.
Threatening to cut the state pension in future, while grabbing more of voters’ cash by raising Income Tax, VAT or National Insurance – perhaps all three – showed May’s real face.
Too clever by half and not half as competent as she pretends, people are asking the questions the Tory Pimpernel doesn’t want to answer as she tries to keep her head down.
May chickened out of TV debates because of fear, knowing she has everything to lose.