An Andy Burnham premiership is unlikely to make “significant” savings to the ballooning welfare bill, economists have warned.
In the run-up today’s by-election, the Mayor of Greater Manchester has said he wants to reduce social security spending by rethinking education and supporting young people, rather than “crude cuts”.
But economists have argued that “tinkering around the sides” is unlikely to address surging welfare expenditure in the short term – which is predicted to hit £400bn by the end of the decade, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
Shorts
A key driver of this is the state pension triple lock – the guarantee that pensions will rise by the higher of 2.5 per cent, inflation or average wage growth. Burnham has committed to maintaining the lock until at least the end of this Parliament. He has also hinted that the next Government should “look at” the tax paid by pensioners.
