Responding to David Cameron's expected commitment to maintain universal pensioner benefits such as free bus passes and TV licences, Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:
"At a time when we're trying to find savings everywhere else in government, it's hard to shake the suspicion that austerity stops at 65. The extraordinary debt that politicians have racked up will weigh very heavily on our children and grandchildren, and continuing these policies into the next Parliament will only add to that potentially back-breaking burden. Politicians must stop attempting to bribe certain voters with special favours, show some backbone, and think about the long-term health of the nation's finances by means-testing or abolishing these unaffordable benefits.
"As with all universal handouts, these policies see those on the lowest incomes subsidising vote-winning cheques to those in far healthier financial situations."