My hon. Friend is probably right, in the sense that the overwhelming response from the Opposition was one of ambiguity. It was ambiguous because they would neither oppose, nor strongly support. It was ambiguous because the shadow pensions Minister, the hon. Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East (Gregg McClymont), who is in his place, said in February 2013 that the triple lock
“was a triumph of rhetoric over reality”
and that, three years into its operation,
“the increase in the state pension is less than it would have been if the uprating method used by the previous Government was still in place.”—[Official Report, 13 February 2013; Vol. 558, c. 1002.]
He has the opportunity to correct me, but, as I recall, the last increase from the previous Government’s formula was 75p, compared with the largest cash increase in the state pension’s history, made by the coalition Government.