Swinney accused of scaremongering over pensions and triple lock

John Swinney has doubled down on “false claims” that Scots are set to lose their pensions as a result of Andy Burnham’s move to scrap the triple lock. The first minister has been accused of attempting to spread disinformation over the UK government policy, announced by the prime minister last week, which is designed to help fund improvements to social care south of the border. Most commented 1 Spain’s embattled PM Pedro Sánchez calls snap election Europe 301 comments 2 Kemi Badenoch puts cutting ‘immoral’ inheritance tax at core of speech Politics 271 comments 3 Brazil election results: Flavio Bolsonaro sets up bitter contest with Lula Latin America 143 comments 4 TalkTalk deal a ‘stitch-up’ of broadband market, says Virgin Media Companies & Markets 93 comments 5 New It’s about time high earners had a tax break Tax 29 comments Swinney has attempted to claim that Burnham is planning a £4bn raid on Scottish pensioners to “pay for social care in England”, which ignores the fact that any additional spending south of the border would automatically lead to an increase in the Scottish government budget. Top stories 1 Brazil election results: Flavio Bolsonaro sets up bitter contest with Lula Latin America 2 Andrew takes Thames Valley police to court over Jeffrey Epstein investigation Royal family 3 The Times LUXX cartoon: October 5, 2026 LUXX 4 The Devon boys making posh ready meals LUXX 5 14 luxury home fragrances for winter LUXX He went further at Holyrood last week when arguing for independence, claiming “we have been taken out of the European Union and we are now going to lose our pensions ”. Under Burnham’s plans, which are contingent on Labour winning the next general election, pensions would still rise, but by a lesser amount than if the triple lock remained in place. Advertisement Asked about his comments on Monday, Swinney claimed he had “nothing to explain to parliament” about the claim that the elderly would “lose” their pensions, insisting it was correct that they would “lose out in the years to come”. Andy Burnham has suggested that the policy will rise by inflation or 2.5 per cent Kirsty Wigglesworth/Getty Images He also denied claims that social care spending increases in England would definitely be passed on to the Scottish government through the Barnett formula , which has been used for decades to determine Holyrood’s block grant. Top stories 1 Six thrilling Costa Rica trips with Times Holidays Promoted content Swinney claimed “none of us can foresee what the implications of these changes will be for the block grant in Scotland” because “we’ve seen in recent years the block grant being reduced because of negative consequentials”. In fact, the overall block grant has repeatedly risen over recent years, with the only exception being when emergency funding provided for the pandemic was withdrawn. Asked what the first minister was referring to, the Scottish government pointed to projections for future years, when it said the UK government’s decision to boost defence spending could lead to a real terms decrease of “over 1 per cent” for 2027-28. An official conceded: “The overall block grant tends to increase over time.” Advertisement Russell Findlay, leader of the Scottish Tories, has accused Swinney of “scaremongering” over the loss of pensions and is pushing for him to correct Holyrood’s official record to make clear his claim was incorrect. Responding to Swinney’s refusal to back down, Findlay said: “Having alarmed Scots pensioners by peddling misinformation, John Swinney is now doubling down, which smacks of SNP arrogance. “If he’s really so confident that he’s done nothing wrong then he should welcome an investigation by the independent advisers on the ministerial code.” Pensioners in Scotland are concerned that the triple lock policy will be scrapped Alamy According to the ministerial code, which Swinney is in change of, it is “of paramount importance” that government figures give “accurate and truthful information to the parliament”. Any inadvertent error should be corrected “at the earliest opportunity” while those who deliberately mislead Holyrood “will be expected to offer their resignation”. Advertisement Swinney said on Thursday in an exchange with Findlay that pensions were “under attack from a Westminster Labour government”. The first minister added: “We have been taken out of the European Union and we are now going to lose our pensions. Scotland needs to have independence.” Some in the SNP are split over the party’s response to Burnham’s proposed reforms, believing, like several independent economists, that the triple lock was unsustainable. Announced in 2010, the policy guarantees the pension will rise by whichever is highest of 2.5 per cent, average wage increases or inflation. Swinney told Burnham this month that changes to the pension triple lock are “completely unacceptable” Carl Court/PA Under Burnham’s proposed system, it will rise by inflation or 2.5 per cent, but the automatic link to average earnings would be removed. The SNP government claims the move will cost Scottish pensioners £4bn by 2050. Claire Baker, Scottish Labour’s parliamentary business spokeswoman, said it was “disappointing that John Swinney has decided to double down on his ‘false claims’ about pensions”. Advertisement She added: “It is completely wrong for the first minister to suggest that people in Scotland could lose their pensions. This just amounts to scaremongering. “On an issue as important as pensions, we should have a grown-up debate, not childish politicking from the SNP, which only adds to people’s worry about the cost of living. “If the first minister has respect for the Scottish parliament, he will reflect on his remarks and take the first opportunity to correct the record.” However, Swinney insisted he had “nothing to explain to parliament about this issue”. “Scottish pensioners were led to believe there was a triple lock going to be in place and that gave them legitimate expectations about the level of their pension,” he said. Advertisement “They’re going to lose out on that because Andy Burnham is removing the triple lock. That’s the hard reality that pensioners in Scotland are having to face up to, having been promised in 2014 that their pensions were safe. “Their pensions have been undermined by the Labour government.” Pressed on the changes not meaning Scots will “lose” their pensions, as he suggested to Findlay, the first minister said: “The Treasury have set out the amount by which pensions will not increase, the amount by which people will lose out in the years to come.”