Since the pension triple lock was first introduced in 2010, the economic circumstances have always meant that it’s a manifesto commitment that any party is willing to stand behind, after all, who wants to be the political party that alienates the ‘grey pound’?
But in 2023, off the back of double-digit price inflation and significant pay increases, the triple lock is looking like an expensive policy for the government to apply.
Some positive news has emerged regarding the economy as early Spring marked an upturn in the number of mortgage applications being approved. The figures are encouraging as they come off the back of an extended period of below average lending for house purchases, viewed by the government as one of the mainstays of the British economy.
One of the problems with historical records is they sound grand but often end up obfuscating other historical records. The announcement by The Bank of England on 3rd November that interest rates were to rise by three-quarters-of-one-percent (0.75%) meant that this was the biggest single jump in rates for more than three decades, thirty three years to be precise. Whilst not ignoring the significance of this move, it could allow us to forget that this also brings to an end one of the longest periods of low interest rates in history.