The government has refused to commit to raising benefits and pensions in line with soaring inflation as food prices rise at levels not seen for 40 years.
Speaking as official figures showed the CPI index had hit 10.1 per cent in September, James Cleverly said the government took its manifesto commitments “incredibly seriously”.
But asked whether the government would up-rate benefits the foreign secretary said the decision would be made by the Treasury down the line.
Labour said the government was “generating further anxiety for people” with its ambiguity and that it was “not the way to do things”.
Refusing to do so would be a break from standard practice and represent a real-terms cut to the incomes of the poorest households and pensioners.
Pushed on the matter during an interview on Sky News, Mr Cleverly said: “We’ve seen those inflation figures, obviously the Chancellor is going to be making a statement to the House in just over a week’s time.
“The decisions that he and the Treasury team will be making will be very much informed by those figures.
“But boring, though, that is… you know that I’m not going to be pre-announcing any of the measures that might come in that statement on 31 (October).”
The Conservatives’ 2019 election manifesto pledged to up-rate pensions by the so-called “triple lock”, which stops the state pension falling below earnings and rising rices. Benefits are generally uprated by inflation as standard to stop their value being eroded.
Mr Cleverly said: “We do take manifesto commitments incredibly seriously, as you know.”
Speaking on BBC Breakfast at the same time Labour’s shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds confirmed Labour would keep the triple-lock and also increase benefits by inflation.
“Yes, no ifs, not buts. And let’s be clear, the government’s manifesto commitment is for exactly the same thing,” Mr Reynolds told the broadcaster.
“There’s no doubt that Conservative MPs, who are obviously the majority in parliament, have made those personal commitments themselves when they were elected.
“So there should be no question of protecting people by matching the uprating by inflation, which is exactly what they have promised.”
He added that uprating by inflation was “the minimum standard thing that the government commits to”, and that specifically on benefits “uprating should match inflation in exactly the same way it always has”.
Rising food prices were the largest contributor to soaring inflation between August and September, the ONS has said.
The consumer price index rate of inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages reached a 40-year high of 14.6 per cent in September. This was up from 13.1 per cent in August.
The annual rate of inflation for this category has continued to rise for the last 14 consecutive months, from negative 0.6 per cent in July 2021.
Responding to the figures, chancellor Jeremy Hunt said that the government “will prioritise help for the most vulnerable while delivering wider economic stability.”
Mr Hunt is looking for ways to rein in government spending in light of the economic disruption caused by the government’s September mini-budget, which caused chaos on the financial markets with a series of unfunded tax cuts.
Around 60 per cent of the tax cuts have been reversed in a series of U-turns executed by Liz Truss and her ministers – with Tory MPs now openly talking about removing the prime minister.
