UK politics live: Badenoch accused of wanting to cut state pension as Labour deny Musk forced gangs inquiries
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Tory leader has been accused of ‘putting pensions on notice’ after revealing a possible policy shift on triple lock pensions during a LBC phone-in. Kemi Badenoch has been accused of wanting to cut the state pension after she revealed she will consider means-testing the triple-lock system.
![[UK retail sales unexpectedly fell by 0.3 per cent in December (Yui Mok/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/07/16/08/3933db7fd50b0612d2220ca0873ec41cY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzIxMTQ2ODcy-2.76716462.jpg)
“We don’t have a system that knows who should get what,” said the Tory leader during the LBC phone-in in what would be a major policy shift for the party. Under the triple lock policy previously supported by the Conservative government, the state pension rises each year by whichever is highest out of 2.5 per cent, inflation, or earnings.
Ms Badenoch added: “We’ve got to give something to the next generation. What are we leaving them with?”. But her comments quickly drew criticism from opposition parties. A Labour Party spokesman said: “Kemi Badenoch has put pensioners on notice – she’s going to cut your state pension.”.
![[Culture secretary Lisa Nandy was asked about the government decision to launch a new audit into grooming gangs]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/17/08/f78e4c55ef7afbfb432c0d1996947c86Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM3MTg3NTE4-2.78375179.jpg)
Elsewhere, Labour’s minister for culture, Lisa Nandy, was asked about claims billionaire Elon Musk pushed the government into launching a new audit into grooming gangs. “I utterly refute that,” she told Sky News. On Thursday, home secretary Yvette Cooper announced a “rapid national audit” into the scale and nature of grooming gags across the country.
Good news for investors this morning. The UK’s FTSE 100 reached its highest ever level following a rally for the index helped by miners and housebuilders amid rising hopes of further interest rate cuts. It surged more than 1 per cent shortly after markets opened on Friday morning to a high of 8,480.57.
![[Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch appeared on LBC Radio for a phone-in (James Manning/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/16/22/43d2927c433b7be96294eb25f6fad0e0Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM3MTUxOTU5-2.78711389.jpg)
