UK election 2024: Rishi Sunak proposes tax cuts for pensioners in new pledge
- It would be worth an initial US$128 a year for each of 8 million pensioners in the UK
- It is the latest gambit to try to shore up a core vote ahead of the July 4 election
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday proposed tax cuts for millions of pensioners in his latest campaign pledge, highlighting the importance of older voters in the coming July election.
Sunak’s Conservative Party said it would introduce a new age-related allowance and deliver a tax cut of around £100 (US$128) for each of 8 million pensioners in 2025, rising to almost £300 a year by the end of the next parliament.
The number of pensioners in Britain rose by 140,000 to 12.6 million in the year to February 2023. Close to 50 million Britons will be eligible to vote in the election, which opinion polls predict is likely to end 14 years of Conservative rule in the country.
The Conservative Party said the proposal comes alongside its commitment to the so-called triple lock, which guarantees increases to publicly funded pensions by the level of earnings, inflation or 2.5 per cent, whichever is highest.