MP votes to keep pension triple lock to protect 22,000 residents in Westmorland and Lonsdale

This week in the House of Commons, local MP Tim Farron voted to keep the triple lock for 22,307 pensioners in Westmorland and Lonsdale.

The state pension triple lock is a rule that means the state pension must rise each year in line with the highest of three possible figures, inflation, average earnings or 2.5%.

However, Conservative MPs voted to suspend the triple lock, despite a manifesto commitment to keep it in place until 2024.

Figures, based on analysis by the House of Commons Library show that 26.1% of residents in Westmorland and Lonsdale will be hit by the government's broken promise.

They also show that 1,603 pensioners in the area are benefiting from state Pension Credit, which is given to the poorest pensioners.

The Liberal Democrats tabled an amendment in Parliament to the Social Security BIll that called for additional support to address the impact of the pandemic on the two million pensioners currently living in poverty and making the uplift to Universal Credit permanent.

Tim said: "This is yet another broken promise from the Conservatives, and this one will hit local pensioners in hard in the pocket.

"The Government is turning its back on local elderly residents, who risk no longer being able to heat their homes this winter as energy costs spiral.

"Our pensioners deserve a fair deal. The triple lock was a cast iron guarantee that vulnerable elderly people were relying on and the Conservatives have failed them.

"Liberal Democrats are demanding that the Government supports the many pensioners in our area living in poverty."