Miliband tries to appeal to pensioners
FREE TV licences and bus passes for pensioners will be spared the axe under a Labour government, Ed Miliband will declare in the latest salvo of the battle to win the support of Britain’s OAPs.
Labour has already announced plans to strip the winter fuel payment from the wealthiest five per cent of pensioners, but Mr Miliband will stress that is the only change he is planning to the universal benefits enjoyed by the elderly.
His claim to have a “better plan for older people” follows David Cameron’s promise to protect pensioner benefits for another five years as the parties sought to win the influential “grey vote”. Mr Miliband will commit to keep the “triple lock” on state pensions, guaranteeing they increase in line with earnings, inflation or by 2.5 per cent, whichever is highest.
Last week Prime Minister Mr Cameron said he would stick to a 2010 pledge to shield universal state help from continued cuts.