I'm in an age group where people are deemed to drift further to the right as the years progress. Yes, you've guessed it, those of state pensionable age. Dad's Army, the grey generation. Those who did most to carry Brexit over the line.
The state pension is miserly compared to most of our European neighbours, and many are fearful of how they will cope or afford care as they fall ill. Because at a younger age and for a few years in the dim and distant past, I paid into a Government pension scheme that topped up your state pension. I can't remember how it happened, but 50 years on, am grateful it did. It was the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme, known as SERPS.
After all, private pensions are subject to tax breaks, so no unfairness there. But for those whose only income is the state pension, even the thought of being caught up by the taxman is a worry, not to mention the stress of having to fill in a tax self assessment form. While the Tories promise they will protect those pensioners not already affected, this insidious threshold freeze is worth billions to the Treasury as inflation does its work for them. Known as fiscal drag, the Office for Budget Responsibility says extra tax revenue from is measure will be worth £42.9 billion over the seven years.