Bim Afolami, the MP for Hitchin and Harpenden, has welcomed the 10.1 per cent increase in the basic state pension that takes effect this month.
The rise means that those receiving the basic state pension will now be paid £156.20 per week (up from £141.85), while those receiving the flat-rate state pension will be paid £203.85 per week (up from £185.15).
The rises reflect the rate of inflation from September 2022. Those who reached state pension age before April 2016 receive the basic pension, while those who reached state pension age after that date receive the flat-rate pension.
The increase means the Conservative party has met its manifesto commitment from the last general election to maintain the 'triple-lock' mechanism.
Under that mechanism, the state pension rises each year in-line with whichever is highest of inflation, average wage increases, or 2.5 per cent.
Responding to the rise, Mr Afolami said: “Pensioners across Hitchin, Harpenden and the villages have been directly affected by high inflation as a result of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine, so it is vital that we protect their incomes from these pressures.
“I welcome the news that 18,138 pensioners in Hitchin, Harpenden and the villages will be receiving the Conservative government’s 10.1 per cent increase in the basic state pension from this month, protecting pensioners from the effects of inflation as we deliver on the Prime Minister’s five priorities.
“This will give pensioners a much needed uplift in their incomes and ensure their pension is not devalued by the effects of global price rises.”
When we interviewed Mr Afolami earlier this year, he declined to say whether he thought nurses should receive a pay rise in-line with inflation, and said that when you introduce pay rises "in one public service, you genuinely make inflation worse and longer-lasting".
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Cllr Sam Collins, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Hitchin & Harpenden, said: "It is quite bizarre to see a Conservative MP talking up the increase in state pensions, as six months ago Rishi Sunak was trying to do the exact opposite of that and remove the pensions triple lock.
"It is like the government doesn’t really know what it is doing, and instead continues to fiddle around the edges while the economy collapses.
"It is even more bizarre to see all of the increases on the cost of living blamed on Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and no mention of Brexit, something which should not surprise anyone who has followed the career of the former ERG member and Hitchin MP.
"The increase in itself is no bad thing but the 10.1 per cent increase is actually below the increase in the consumer prices index (CPI) which was 10.4 per cent up in the 12 months to February, so pensioners will still be worse off than they were a year ago.
"What the country needs is an end to all this Conservative chaos and a proper plan to get our economy growing strongly again."
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