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| Pensions: Minister can't give certainty over triple lock | Pensions: Minister can't give certainty over triple lock |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has said he cannot give people "certainty" over how much their pensions will increase by next year. | Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has said he cannot give people "certainty" over how much their pensions will increase by next year. |
| Two weeks ago the PM said she would stick to the triple lock, meaning payments would rise by whatever is higher - prices, average wages or 2.5%. | |
| But on Tuesday, her spokesman said she was "not making any commitments" on government spending. | But on Tuesday, her spokesman said she was "not making any commitments" on government spending. |
| Labour said it was committed to keeping the triple lock "no ifs, no buts". | Labour said it was committed to keeping the triple lock "no ifs, no buts". |
| Liz Truss will face MPs at Prime Minister's Questions later for the first time since sacking her chancellor and scrapping almost all the tax cuts announced by her government last month. | Liz Truss will face MPs at Prime Minister's Questions later for the first time since sacking her chancellor and scrapping almost all the tax cuts announced by her government last month. |
| While the PM's team think her engagement with MPs this week and been warm and improved her position, the prime minister is still under immense pressure, with her authority undermined after she abandoned her flagship policies. | |
| One ally of the PM said she was determined to get on the with the job, but at midday her fight for survival will play out in public, as she faces questions from Labour and her own backbenchers in Parliament. | |
| Cost of living fears as milk and cereal prices rise | Cost of living fears as milk and cereal prices rise |
| Three ways Tories could get rid of Truss | Three ways Tories could get rid of Truss |
| Asked whether the government was still committed to the triple lock, Mr Cleverly told BBC Breakfast ministers took manifesto commitments "incredibly seriously". | Asked whether the government was still committed to the triple lock, Mr Cleverly told BBC Breakfast ministers took manifesto commitments "incredibly seriously". |
| "I know your viewers would want me to give certainty here and now. I'm not in a position to do that because the announcements are going to be made in the very, very near future by the chancellor," he said. | "I know your viewers would want me to give certainty here and now. I'm not in a position to do that because the announcements are going to be made in the very, very near future by the chancellor," he said. |
| "We've got to do the right thing to make sure we manage the economy well. We've got to make sure that our cost of borrowing doesn't go up because that then has an impact on inflation and those bills as well." | "We've got to do the right thing to make sure we manage the economy well. We've got to make sure that our cost of borrowing doesn't go up because that then has an impact on inflation and those bills as well." |
| New Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is due to give a statement on the government's plans for tax and spending on 31 October. | New Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is due to give a statement on the government's plans for tax and spending on 31 October. |
| All government departments have been told to find savings, and Mr Hunt has not ruled out further tax hikes and spending cuts to reassure financial markets and keep UK debt under control. | |
| Inflation - the rate at which prices rise - is running at a 40-year high of 10.1%, meaning wages, pensions and benefits are not keeping up with the cost of living. | |
| A decision on how much to increase pensions by next April has not been made yet and would normally be expected this autumn. | |
| The triple lock has been in place ever since it was introduced under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, apart from a one-year suspension during the pandemic. | |
| The Resolution Foundation think tank has estimated raising pensions by earnings instead of inflation would save the government £6bn next year. | |
| The government has also refused to commit to increasing benefits in line with inflation, a pledge made by Ms Truss's predecessor Boris Johnson. The issue dominated the Tory party conference in Birmingham - and breaking the commitments on pensions and benefits is likely to face opposition from many Tory MPs. |