All posts tagged: Triple

Plans to tamper with the pension triple lock might not be as dangerous for Labour as some believe

Plans to tamper with the pension triple lock might not be as dangerous for Labour as some believe

Published by Sam Flores

When Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the Labour conference that he is going to change the state pension’s triple lock mechanism, the backlash was immediate. For 15 years, the triple lock has been one of the few genuinely untouchable policies in British politics. Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, warned that Burnham’s plans could amount to “electoral suicide”. And Reform UK’s leader, Nigel Farage, said the prime minister was considering “an offensive against our elderly”. But, interestingly, the public’s reaction has been considerably more positive, reflecting changing views over what Britons consider fair and acceptable around elderly care and incomes. Despite some of the headlines, the triple lock is not being scrapped. Rather, the government’s proposed reform from 2030 envisions the state pension rising each year by the highest of inflation, 2.5%, or whatever is needed to keep pace with earnings. What is being scrapped is the mechanism that pushes the pension ever higher relative to wages. Under the current rules, whenever inflation or the 2.5% floor outpaces earnings growth, the pension gets …

The UK’s pension triple lock has done its job and needs to be retired

The UK’s pension triple lock has done its job and needs to be retired

Published by Sam Flores

The UK’s pension triple lock has only been in place for 15 years. But it’s done the job it was brought in to do, and now it should be scrapped. So the prime minister is right to want to change it. Because while it’s been widely treated as politically untouchable, the triple lock is very expensive. That’s not to say it was unnecessary. At the time that it was introduced in 2011 (by the Conservative-led coalition) to address the problem of pensioner poverty, the state pension was equivalent to only a sixth of national average earnings. To reverse the decline of the pension relative to earnings, the triple lock mechanism meant that every year, state pensions would rise by whichever is the greatest of three measures: 2.5%, the rate of price inflation, or average earnings growth. The overall idea was to reduce poverty and ensure that pensioners benefited from rising prosperity, if and when the economy grew. Individually, those measures were introduced for slightly different reasons. Increasing state pensions in line with price inflation for …

Will pensioners be poorer as a result of Burnham scrapping the triple lock? | State pensions

Will pensioners be poorer as a result of Burnham scrapping the triple lock? | State pensions

Published by Sam Flores

The prime minister has announced that the pensions triple lock will be scrapped in its current form, to partly fund a national care service. What is the new policy? On the existing triple lock, the state pension increases each April by inflation, 2.5% or average earnings, whichever is higher. From 2030, under what Labour is calling an “adjusted triple lock”, the pension will still rise either in line with prices, or 2.5% each year, whichever is higher – but it won’t rise in line with earnings unless its value has fallen behind. In that case, it will be adjusted so that it keeps pace. Why the change? The cost of providing the state pension in the 2026/27 tax year, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) thinktank, will be £154bn, making it the most costly benefit in the UK. Andy Burnham has outlined ambitious plans for a national care service that will need to be paid for. The new policy removes what thinktank the Resolution Foundation has called the “ratchet” effect, which can happen …

Politics Home | Andy Burnham Says He Will Scrap Triple Lock To Fund Social Care After General Election

Politics Home | Andy Burnham Says He Will Scrap Triple Lock To Fund Social Care After General Election

Published by Sam Flores

Andy Burnham spoke to conference in Liverpool on Tuesday (Alamy) 6 min read2 hr Andy Burnham has pledged to reform the pension triple lock after the next general election to fund a new social care system. It is one of several announcements the Prime Minister made in his Labour Party conference speech in Liverpool. He also said he would launch a national commission on changing the voting system, and look at pursuing closer ties with the European Union. Burnham said he would use his first conference speech as PM to “break the mold”, saying that “more of the same isn’t good enough” to get the country back on track. He said he would “make a break with the direction of the past 40 years” and create a Britain “where people feel the country has got their back again. A Britain for everyone, no matter who we are or where we’re born, we would be unstoppable, and we will be.” Burnham paid tribute to his predecessor Keir Starmer “for the historic victory he achieved for us” at …

Triple lock to boost pensions by 3.9pc as Reynolds refuses to rule out tax raid

Triple lock to boost pensions by 3.9pc as Reynolds refuses to rule out tax raid

Published by Sam Flores

The Business Secretary refused four times to rule out retirees paying tax on the state pension from next year. Jonathan Reynolds declined to reassure pensioners that they would not pay income tax on the benefit for the first time, saying it was a question for the Chancellor. The comments on Tuesday raised concern for millions of retired people expecting to see their state pension surpass £13,000 from April, forcing them to pay income tax. However, pensions minister Torsten Bell later insisted Labour would not put up taxes on people who rely on the state pension. It is still unclear how this will be implemented given the complexity of separating the tax arrangements of different groups of pensioners. The rise under the triple lock guarantee would drag many pensioners into paying income tax for the first time because their state income would surpass the personal allowance of £12,570. Rachel Reeves, the former chancellor, said last year that people solely reliant on the state pension would not have to pay the tax. However, Mr Reynolds was repeatedly …

‘Costing billions’: is the pensions triple lock a lifeline or simply unaffordable? | State pensions

‘Costing billions’: is the pensions triple lock a lifeline or simply unaffordable? | State pensions

Published by Sam Flores

There were fresh calls this week for the state pension “triple lock” to be ditched as debate rages over whether the UK can afford it. The triple lock guarantees that the state pension goes up each year in line with inflation or wage increases or 2.5% – whichever is the highest. In the latest intervention, the British Chambers of Commerce has called for the policy to be scrapped, and the money saved to be put towards tackling the youth unemployment crisis. Meanwhile, a leading economic thinktank has added fuel to the fire by reminding everyone of the multibillion-pound cost of the policy. So what is the triple lock, is it a good or a bad policy, and is it destined for the chop? Here are four things you need to know: It was introduced by George Osborne (sort of) A few years ago, a Guardian opinion piece claimed that George Osborne – who served as Conservative chancellor from 2010 to 2016 – was “the most deliberately, intentionally, knowingly poverty-causing chancellor of modern times”. However, he did …

Drinking very hot tea and coffee can triple your risk of cancer, Oxford study finds

Drinking very hot tea and coffee can triple your risk of cancer, Oxford study finds

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email A major University of Oxford study of almost one million UK adults has found that drinking very hot tea and coffee may increase the risk of oesophageal cancer. Financed by Cancer Research UK, researchers analysed data gathered from across the nation and established clear evidence connecting hot drinks to the disease, although the overall threat remains very minimal. While prior studies have pointed to a similar correlation, this latest project provides the most thorough examination of the issue to date. Participants who reported enjoying hot drinks faced roughly 1.7 times the cancer risk of those who preferred warm beverages. That figure rose to approximately three times the risk for individuals who drank them very hot. Consuming six or more hot beverages daily also elevated the likelihood compared to drinking fewer than six per day. Although exact temperatures went unrecorded in the study, the International Agency …

Drinking very hot drinks could triple risk of oesophageal cancer, study finds | Cancer

Drinking very hot drinks could triple risk of oesophageal cancer, study finds | Cancer

Published by Sam Flores

Drinking very hot tea and coffee triples the risk of developing cancer of the gullet, the world’s largest study of the link between them has found. The findings show that people should let very hot cups of tea and coffee cool down until they are comfortable to drink, in order to reduce their risk of the disease, cancer experts said. The temperature of the drink and the number of very hot drinks someone consumes increase the chances of getting oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), the research found. However, hot drinks do not heighten the risk of getting adenocarcinoma (AC), the other form of oesophageal cancer. “Consumption of drinks at a ‘very hot’ versus ‘warm’ temperature was associated with a threefold greater SCC risk but not with AC risk, after adjustment for consumption frequency”, according to the study, which was published on Wednesday in the International Journal of Cancer. “After controlling for drink temperature, daily consumption of six or more versus fewer than six hot drinks was associated with a 71% increase in SCC risk, with …

I tried a phone with a battery over triple the size of the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s

I tried a phone with a battery over triple the size of the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s

Published by skeptic

So, you want a smartphone with an incredible battery life. You shouldn’t go out and buy the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, iPhone 17 Pro Max, or even the OnePlus 15. There’s a niche smartphone brand putting massive batteries inside Android phones, and its latest model has a capacity more than three times larger than the Galaxy S26 Ultra, iPhone 17 Pro Max, or Google Pixel 11 Pro XL. It’s called the Oukitel WP70 Ultra, and it packs a whopping 16,000mAh battery into a (relatively) thinner frame. You might remember Oukitel for making other wild Android phones. Last year, I tried the Oukitel WP63, a phone with an even larger 20,000mAh battery and a lighter that could start fires. This time, I went hands-on with the new Oukitel WP70 Ultra, and it’s a more sensible, but still beastly, Android phone. While I prefer ultra-slim phones like the iPhone Air and Galaxy S25 Edge, if battery life really matters to you above all else, a phone like the WP70 Ultra might be for you. Related This phone …

Frozen Triple Berry Blend Recalled In 16 States

Frozen Triple Berry Blend Recalled In 16 States

Published by Sam Flores

By Ellyn Vohnoutka HealthDay ReporterFRIDAY, Sept. 4, 2026 (HealthDay News) — A frozen berry blend sold at Walmart stores in 16 states has been pulled from shelves as a precaution, widening a recall connected to an ongoing E. coli outbreak. Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A., a produce supplier based in San Carlos, Chile, added one lot of Great Value Organic Triple Berry Blend to a recall it first announced July 3, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said. The 10-ounce bags hold strawberries, blackberries and blueberries. Shoppers should look for UPC 7874211226, the lot code 6040 01-6 printed on the front of the package and a “best if used by” date of Feb. 9, 2028. No illnesses have been linked to the triple berry blend. The supplier said it took the step after tracing the source of the berries in its earlier recall. Bags went to select Walmart stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin. Anyone who has the …