Labour's cost of living tsar calls to scrap pensions triple lock

Lord Richard Walker, Starmer's appointed cost of living adviser and Iceland Foods chair, described the state pension triple lock as "mathematically unsustainable" and "unfair" to younger workers. The intervention from within Labour's inner circle contradicts the party's pledge to maintain the mechanism, which guarantees pensions rise by the highest of inflation, earnings growth, or 2.5 percent annually. Walker's business background and formal advisory role give his comments political weight at a time when the IFS warns the triple lock disproportionately benefits better-off pensioners while creating fiscal unpredictability. The split exposes tension between Labour's electoral promises to older voters and fiscal realities as pension spending outpaces economic growth.