MPs fear unpicking the pensions triple lock would be an ‘election killer’ – no matter what they admit in private

Published

2 years ago

September 12, 2023

admin

The pensions triple lock is one of those policies that – despite only being introduced in 2010 – now feels so deep-rooted that no party can challenge it.

Turn the clock back to the coalition government: conscious of pensioner poverty and the state pension having fallen in real terms over many years, they came up with a guarantee.

Every year it would be either increased in line with prices (CPI inflation), to match average wages, or by 2.5% – whichever was the highest.

This was the post-financial crash era of rock-bottom interest rates and low inflation. Now all that has changed.

The state pension is likely to rise by 8.5% after April, in line with the latest earnings data – including bonuses.

This eclipses inflation which is running at around 7% and forecast to fall.

The average weekly state pension would rise from £203.85 to £221.20 a week.

Rayner promises action on employment rights – politics latest

Conservative ministers have stuck to the policy in every election manifesto, not least because pensioners turn out to vote.

The British Election Study team in 2018 found that turnout by age ranged from 40% to 50% among the youngest voters and over 80% for the oldest – although it varies by constituency.

The former coalition pensions minister Steve Webb has pointed out that the increase next year will take half a million pensioners over the income tax threshold – giving the Treasury a windfall.

Rishi Sunak, asked on his trip to the G20 about this issue, did not commit to keeping it after the election; although media coverage of this saw Number 10 commit to the policy.

Is widely supported policy unaffordable?

The problem is that it is becoming increasingly unaffordable as working-age people will have to bear the cost of an ageing population’s benefits on their taxes.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has said that an additional £11bn a year is spent on the state pension due to the triple lock – compared with if it had been raised by either inflation or earnings.

By 2050, they reckon this could be £45bn.

Uncertainty around the triple lock makes it hard for governments to budget exactly how much it will cost in future.

In 2022, it was suspended for one year, for the first time, to take out earnings, because of the distorting effect of people coming back to work after the pandemic.

But despite speculation this might be the moment to reevaluate it, the lock was reinstated for this year with a 10.1% rise in line with inflation the previous September.

Charities for the elderly insist it must stay, saying pensioners on fixed incomes, who have paid taxes all their lives, rely on it to afford their food and energy bills.

And polling across different age groups consistently shows support for it.

MPs privately admit the need for change

Today the former Tory leader William Hague has waded in on the future of the triple lock.

He said it’s “ultimately unsustainable” and must be looked at again on a cross-party basis, with a future date set to drop the policy.

Describing it in The Times as “a very fierce sleeping dog that hates anyone to tread on its paws” he said younger people faced higher living costs than for decades.

He said one option was to follow the Conservatives’ example in the 1990s, when they gave 15 years’ notice that the women’s pension age would rise in stages from 2010 to 2020 – and Labour went along with it.

MPs across parties privately admit the pension system needs reform.

A senior Tory backbencher said ditching the lock before an election would be an “election killer” and it could only be done a long way into the future with a royal commission to look into it first.

Labour has left some wriggle room too, with the party saying it will set out its policies at the election, but plans to “hold the government’s feet to the fire” on keeping it in this parliament.

The risk in keeping it is that future chancellors bring forward increases in the pension age to save money.

It will reach 67 by 2028 and a decision on when to increase it to 68 has been put on hold.

The problem is there is never a good time for politicians to take the triple lock out of the in-tray.

Politics

New Hampshire governor signs crypto reserve bill into law

Published

41 mins ago

May 6, 2025

admin

New Hampshire governor signs crypto reserve bill into law

New Hampshire became the first US state to allow its government to invest in crypto currencies including Bitcoin (BTC), after Governor Kelly Ayotte signed a bill passed by the legislature into law.

In a May 6 notice, Ayotte announced on social media that New Hampshire would be permitted to “invest in cryptocurrency and precious metals” through a bill passed in the state Senate and House of Representatives. House Bill 302, introduced in New Hampshire in January, will allow the state’s treasury to use funds to invest in cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization of more than $500 billion, eliminating many tokens and memecoins.

“The Live Free or Die state is leading the way in forging the future of commerce and digital assets,” said New Hampshire Republicans in a May 6 X post.

Law, New Hampshire, United States, Bitcoin Reserve — *Signing New Hampshire’s crypto reserve bill into law on May 6. Source:* *Governor Kelly Ayotte*

With the signing of the bill into law, New Hampshire becomes the first of several US states considering passing legislation to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, including an initiative with the federal government. A similar bill in Arizona passed the state’s House in April but was vetoed by Governor Katie Hobbs on May 2, and Florida’s government withdrew two crypto reserve bills from consideration on May 3.

New Hampshire’s crypto plans to precede the US government’s?

The efforts to create crypto reserves in different US states come as US President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers propose similar policies at the federal level. Trump signed an executive order in March to establish a “Digital Asset Stockpile” and a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.”

Senator Cynthia Lummis, who sponsored the Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide (BITCOIN) Act, proposed that the US government could hold more than 1 million BTC through civil and criminal forfeiture seizures. The bill is currently being considered by members of the US Senate Banking Committee.

Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

Politics

FT report suggests advance knowledge of Melania Trump memecoin launch

Published

2 hours ago

May 6, 2025

admin

FT report suggests advance knowledge of Melania Trump memecoin launch

A group of crypto traders reportedly purchased millions of dollars worth of Melania Trump’s memecoins minutes before she announced the launch on social media.

According to a May 6 Financial Times report, the crypto traders earned roughly $100 million from buying $2.6 million worth of MELANIA tokens before the public launch on Jan. 19. Shortly after Trump announced the memecoin launch on social media, the price surged from roughly $2.00 to $12.95 — a 550% increase. The traders reportedly sold their holdings within 12 hours.

“In total, the 24 accounts bought up 16.7mn of the 200mn total $MELANIA tokens scheduled for sale during the launch period,” the Financial Times reported. “[…] the run of sales that started pre-launch continued. About $900,000 worth of tokens bought by an additional 22 accounts in the 42 seconds after the launch.”

United States, Donald Trump, Corruption, Trading, Memecoin — *Price of MELANIA token from Jan. 19 to Jan. 28. Source:* *CoinMarketCap*

The memecoin started trading roughly two days after then-president-elect Donald Trump announced the launch of his own TRUMP coin. Both tokens have come under scrutiny from lawmakers, alleging conflicts of interest and corruption due to the potential for bribery and foreign influence.

Memecoin dinner prompts call for impeachment

Much of the scrutiny and criticism from US lawmakers over the memecoins seems to be directed at the president rather than the first lady. After Trump announced some of the top TRUMP tokenholders would be offeried the chance to get access to him at a private dinner and tour, one senator called for his impeachment.

Both the prices of the MELANIA and TRUMP tokens have dropped significantly since shortly after their launch in January, with the First Lady’s memecoin falling to $0.31 at the time of publication. The TRUMP token price briefly surged after the memecoin dinner announcement in April, but had dropped to $10.90 as of May 6.

Two companies connected to the president control roughly 80% of the TRUMP supply, though many of the tokens were locked and will be released over the next three years. Critics have suggested that the project’s insiders could still rug-pull investors.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Politics

21Shares launches ETP for Crypto.com’s Cronos token

Published

2 hours ago

May 6, 2025

admin

<div>21Shares launches ETP for Crypto.com's Cronos token</div>

21Shares has launched an exchange traded product (ETP) in Europe, providing investors with exposure to Crypto.com’s Cronos token, the asset manager said.

The ETP is listed on Euronext’s Paris and Amsterdam exchanges, 21Shares said in a May 6 announcement.

Cronos (CRO) is a layer-1 blockchain network affiliated with Crypto.com, a centralized exchange.

The chain is designed to integrate with the Ethereum and Cosmos ecosystems and support “decentralised finance (DeFi), NFTs, and Web3 applications,” 21Shares said.

The ETP aims to provide investors with a “straightforward way to integrate CRO into their portfolios through traditional banks and brokers, eliminating the need to directly handle digital wallets or exchanges,” 21Shares said.

21Shares launches ETP for Crypto.com's Cronos token — *The CRO token’s historical performance. Source:* *CoinMarketCap*

“By launching a Cronos ETP, we are offering investors […] regulated exposure to a blockchain ecosystem that is driving real-world adoption,” Mandy Chiu, 21Shares’ head of financial products development, said in a statement.

The CRO token has a market capitalization of approximately $2.3 billion and a fully diluted value (FDV) of nearly $8.7 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Cronos has a total value locked (TVL) of approximately $400 million, according to data from DeFiLlama.

Its DeFi ecosystem includes Crypto.com’s liquid Ether staking token, Crypto.com Staked ETH, which has nearly $64 million in TVL, the data shows.

Altcoin ETFs abound

On May 5, asset manager VanEck filed to list an exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US tied to yet another exchange-affiliated token.

The VanEck BNB ETF is the first proposed ETF in the US holding BNB Chain’s native token, BNB. The chain is affiliated with Binance, the world’s largest centralized exchange.

In the US, 21Shares has proposed ETFs holding cryptocurrencies including Dogecoin (DOGE), Polkadot (DOT), and Solana (SOL).

Asset managers are seeking the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) permission to list upward of 70 cryptocurrency ETFs.

The wave of filings has come as a result of US President Donald Trump softening the SEC’s regulatory posture toward crypto after taking office in January.

Magazine: Solana ‘will be a trillion-dollar asset’: Mert Mumtaz, X Hall of Flame