Tory MPs worried as Rishi pledges to back older voters

RISHI Sunak is attempting to head off a revolt by older voters with a pledge that his Government will always back pensioners.

- Jonathan Walker

He has been stung by claims he is alienating the over-65s with tax hikes.

An inflation-busting rise in the state pension came into force yesterday, boosting payments by £902.20 a year, up to £11,502.

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said: “My message to Sunday Express readers is simple: as the 8.5 per cent increase to state pension and our trackrecord clearly show, this Government will always back our pensioners.”

But Conservative MPs fear the giveaway has been undermined by a series of blunders. A former Cabinet minister said last night: “We have got this wrong.”

Tory MPs are worried about the freeze in income tax thresholds, which means 1.6 million more pensioners are becoming liable for income tax.

Critics also point to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s failure to explain how he will pay for his Budget announcement that he hopes to abolish National Insurance, paid by working people.

This allowed Labour to stoke fears the Chancellor will hike up income tax, which is paid by pensioners as well as workers.

Adding to Tory woes, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves last night launched a bid for pensioner votes by urging those who “may never have voted for the Labour Party before in your life” to back her party in the forthcoming general election.

A former Cabinet minister said: “Some of our recent decisions do seem to be designed to disadvantage pensioners and that seems to be a mistake.

“I think fellow MPs are concerned that the leadership of the party is not very political, and it just doesn’t think about what effect decisions have on people who might vote Conservative.”