Reform UK’s state pension U-turn has been slammed as “hugely disappointing” with the party pledging to keep the triple lock in place if it wins the next General Election.
Earlier this morning, Nigel Farage confirmed the policy will be in his party’s manifesto despite previously indicating the triple lock was “up for debate” earlier this year.
The party leader announced the policy shift at a London press conference today, claiming the commitment would be financed through what he described as “the biggest cuts to the benefits bill ever seen in this country”.
Mr Farage defended the policy by characterising pensioners as “people who have actually worked and paid into the system”.
The policy shift represents a significant victory for Robert Jenrick, the high-profile Conservative defector who advocated for the triple lock in February, arguing that people deserved “dignity and security” in their later years.
At the press conference, Mr Jenrick pledged that Reform would slash “tens and tens of billions” of pounds currently squandered by government, as the party “fundamentally resets” spending to “actually put the British people first”.
He claimed the party had already identified £40billion in annual savings through reforms and cuts, which would be implemented if Reform were to get the keys to Number 10 Downing Street.
Today’s announcement arrives as Reform seeks to attract voters ahead of elections to English councils, the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd in early May. The Institute of Economic Affairs responded sharply to Reform’s announcement.
Dr Kristian Niemietz, the Institute of Economic Affairs’ (IEA) editorial director, called the commitment “hugely disappointing”, stating it “confirms that no major party is willing to be honest with voters about the cost of Britain’s growing pension obligations”.
He described the triple lock as “an electoral bribe with a compound interest rate” that “ratchets up spending year after year, including under economic conditions which really do not warrant it”.
Mr Niemietz argued that a party claiming to champion radical reform and fiscal responsibility should be “leading the argument for a sustainable pension settlement, not bidding for grey votes with the same unaffordable promises as everyone else”.
The Conservatives dismissed Reform’s announcement, with a party source accusing them of being “all over the place on the triple lock”.
Furthermore, Mr Jenrick’s former party claimed he was “strong-arming Farage into backing unfunded policies with no credible plan to deliver them as Reform’s local election campaign descends into chaos”.
The triple lock, introduced under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition Government in 2010, guarantees the state pension rises by whichever is highest: inflation, average earnings, or 2.5 per cent.
The policy is set to increase the state pension by 4.8 per cent to £12,548 on Monday, adding an estimated £6billion annually to Treasury expenditure.
