Polis
The State
MoneySpider | The Watchtower
What is coming, and how far away ·
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Polis · The State
The Long Fuse
Some costs get priced when they're visible and near. Some don't, when they're diffuse and far. This is the pension promise's paper trail — not a story about which party is honest, but about which costs the political process can see.
Visible & Near
4 Acts · 3 governments
Raised the State Pension age — legislated in 1995, 2007, 2011 and 2014, across Conservative, Labour and Coalition governments.
Diffuse & Far
Unbroken since 2011
The triple lock — one uprating cycle's earnings component paused in 2022/23; otherwise untouched across every government since.
Earlier history unscored · under review, not part of the scored ledger below
Scored ledger, 1995–2023 Expansion above the line · Retrenchment below
Scored entry
Unscored context marker
Confirmedwhat the Act did
Inferredthe causal interpretation
Reading it. Four Pensions Acts (1995, 2007, 2011, 2014), spanning Conservative, Labour and Coalition governments, each raised the State Pension age as its cost became visible and near. The 2011 triple lock — a single guarantee, legislated the same year and by the same government as that year's Pensions Act — has gone almost untouched since, bar a one-year, pandemic-driven technical suspension of its earnings component (2022/23, restored the following year). Inferred reading: the political process disciplines costs it can see and struggles to discipline costs it can't — a mechanism, not a verdict on any one party or decision.
Scope. The scored ledger covers 1995–2023 only. Earlier history (1908 Old Age Pensions Act through the 1986 SERPS cuts) and the 2016 New State Pension Act are shown as unscored context markers, not scored Expansions/Retrenchments — the 1980 earnings-link break and 1986 SERPS cuts were also retrenchments of a diffuse, future-dated benefit, and whether they fit the same "visible costs disciplined, diffuse costs aren't" mechanism is an open research question, not yet resolved (see MS-SKDLF-Log.md). Grouped and ordered by mechanism throughout, never by party; government names are factual labels, not a sorting axis or a colour code.
Sources. House of Commons Library, State Pension triple lock (CBP-7812) and State Pension age timetable (CBP-7405); GOV.UK/DWP analysis of State Pension age changes from the 1995 and 2011 Pensions Acts; Pensions Act 2014, s.26 (SPA to 67, 2026–2028); Social Security (Uprating of Benefits) Act 2021 (2022/23 earnings-component suspension).
Scope. The scored ledger covers 1995–2023 only. Earlier history (1908 Old Age Pensions Act through the 1986 SERPS cuts) and the 2016 New State Pension Act are shown as unscored context markers, not scored Expansions/Retrenchments — the 1980 earnings-link break and 1986 SERPS cuts were also retrenchments of a diffuse, future-dated benefit, and whether they fit the same "visible costs disciplined, diffuse costs aren't" mechanism is an open research question, not yet resolved (see MS-SKDLF-Log.md). Grouped and ordered by mechanism throughout, never by party; government names are factual labels, not a sorting axis or a colour code.
Sources. House of Commons Library, State Pension triple lock (CBP-7812) and State Pension age timetable (CBP-7405); GOV.UK/DWP analysis of State Pension age changes from the 1995 and 2011 Pensions Acts; Pensions Act 2014, s.26 (SPA to 67, 2026–2028); Social Security (Uprating of Benefits) Act 2021 (2022/23 earnings-component suspension).
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🕳️ The Gold Hole
The Great British Gold Sell-Off · 1999–2002 · A MoneySpider Special
Gold spot ($/oz)
Connecting…
Fetching live gold spot price…
⚠ Gold Hole Index — Total Opportunity Cost
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Current market value of gold sold, less proceeds received
Between July 1999 and March 2002, the UK Treasury sold 395 tonnes of gold
— roughly 58–60% of Britain's entire reserves — at or near the bottom of a
20-year bear market in the metal. The pre-announcement of sales is widely held to have
depressed the gold price before the first auction even took place.
This index quantifies the cost to the British public.
Sale Facts — Fixed (National Audit Office)
Gold Sold
395 t
12.70 million troy oz
Avg Sale Price
$274.92
NAO verified figure
Proceeds Raised
$3.50bn
17 auctions over 3 years
Market Low (Jul 1999)
$253/oz
20-year bear market bottom
Live Calculations — Update Gold Price Above to Refresh
Current Value of Gold Sold
—
—
Gold Hole Index
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Opportunity cost of the sale
Gold Price Multiple
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Today vs avg sale price
Cost per UK Household
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28.5m households (ONS 2023)
Cost per UK Taxpayer
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33m taxpayers (HMRC 2023) · USD
Gold CAGR Since Sale
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p.a. from mid-2001 to today
Years Running
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Since programme midpoint
Gold Price Context — Sale Period to Today
“The decision to announce the sales in advance was unusual and, it is generally accepted, depressed the price obtained.”
— House of Commons Treasury Select Committee, 2007
Auction Programme Reference
| Metric | Figure | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Total auctions | 17 | Quarterly, Jul 1999 – Mar 2002 |
| Gold per auction | ~25 tonnes | Approximate average |
| First auction price | ~$256/oz | Near 20-year market low |
| Average achieved | $274.92/oz | National Audit Office figure |
| Average in sterling | ~£175/oz | Using period GBP/USD rates |
| Total proceeds | ~$3.5bn | Matches 12.7m oz × $274.92 |
| Reserves share sold | ~58–60% | Down from ~715t to ~315t |
| Stated rationale | Diversify reserves | Into US$, €, ¥ bonds |
Sources & methodology:
National Audit Office (2000); HM Treasury auction results; House of Commons Treasury Select Committee report (2007); World Gold Council.
Gold quantity: 395 metric tonnes = 12,699,507 troy oz (1 metric tonne = 32,150.7 troy oz).
Gold Hole Index = (current gold price × oz sold) − actual proceeds of $3.5bn.
Per-household and per-taxpayer figures in USD.
CAGR calculated from mid-2001 (programme midpoint) to today's date, recomputed on each page load.
UK households: 28.5m (ONS 2023). UK income taxpayers: 33m (HMRC 2023–24).
This analysis is for editorial and informational purposes only. MoneySpider is a broadcast project.