The chance of Labour dropping the state pension triple lock from its next manifesto has increased because trade unions and influential Labour figures are softening their opposition to scrapping it, The i Paper can reveal.
A senior union source said the mechanism was “completely unsustainable” in the long term and that abolishing it could be used to help fund Andy Burnham’s vision for free social care.
The Prime Minister has pledged to put free-at-point-of-use social care into the party’s next general election manifesto, along with a plan to fund the policy, which could cost up to £18.5bn a year.
Shorts
Scroll to previous short
Scroll to next short
Caption: People drinking outside The Blue Posts pub on Kingly Street in the West End, Westminster, Soho, London, England, UK. (Photo by: Alex Segre/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Photographer: UCG
Provider: UCG/Universal Images Group via G
Source: Universal Images Group Editorial
Copyright: Alex Segre
hospitality
The northern pub chain offering £3 pints in London
Amber Taverns is adding a boozer in Bromley, a southeastern suburb of London, to its repertoire of 175 pubs, mainly based in the North West and North East of England.
It comes as pubs get increasingly expensive in the capital, where almost two pubs are closing every day.
Bromley’s new local
The Blackpool-based chain pours pints as cheap as £2.50 – a stark difference for Londoners accustomed to an average £6.50 per pint.
It keeps costs down by buying “unloved” former pubs and sticking to the basics. No hot food means no kitchen and no extra costs.
The Saving Grace will open on the former site of the Barrel and Horn on Bromley High Street.
It follows a spate of new openings in the south of England, including The Erasmus Wolfe in Gosport, Hampshire.
The future of pubs
James Baer, chairman of Amber Taverns, said: “People do still want to very much go to the pub, it’s just a matter of offering good value and a warm welcome. Amber remains a testament to the validity of thriving community pubs.”
He added he thinks there will be more opportunity for the chain to expand in the south of England in the future.
Explained
4 min read
7 min read
Caption: New Drivetime show presenter, Angela Scanlon joins Sara Cox on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Monday 28 September 2026
Angela Scanlon has been named the permanent new host of the BBC Radio 2 Drivetime show, taking over the prestigious weekday slot. She replaces Sara Cox, who moved to the station’s breakfast show earlier in the year
Provided by sarah.hall1@bbc.co.uk
Provider: Sarah Jeynes/BBC
Copyright: BBC
media
Angela Scanlon takes over Sara Cox’s Radio 2 drivetime slot
Angela Scanlon will take over the 4pm to 7pm slot on BBC Radio 2 every weekday from November.
Scanlon emerged victorious from a raft of presenters who covered the show over the summer, and will replace DJ Sara Cox.
What you need to know
Since Cox took up the mantle of BBC Radio 2’s breakfast show, the drivetime slot has been up for grabs.
Scanlon, who has previously hosted a Sunday morning programme on the station, has been appointed her successor.
Caption:
Angela Scanlon has been named the permanent new host of the BBC Radio 2 Drivetime show, taking over the prestigious weekday slot. She replaces Sara Cox, who moved to the station’s breakfast show earlier in the year
Provided by sarah.hall1@bbc.co.uk
How refreshing it is to hear someone as confident and mischievous as Sara Cox on the breakfast show (Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett/BBC/PA)
She is also known for presenting The One Show, This Morning, the Get a Grip podcast and for starring in Strictly Come Dancing in 2023.
‘Every weekday, I’ll be in your ears’
Scanlon said it was “properly exciting” to host the show, adding: “Every weekday, I’ll be in your ears, your cars and your kitchens – on the school run, on the way home, or standing at the hob wondering what on earth to feed a small but hungry mob.”
BBC Radio 2 controller Helen Thomas said she was chosen because she is “incredibly warm and quick witted”.
Caption: New Drivetime show presenter, Angela Scanlon joins Sara Cox on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Monday 28 September 2026
Angela Scanlon has been named the permanent new host of the BBC Radio 2 Drivetime show, taking over the prestigious weekday slot. She replaces Sara Cox, who moved to the station’s breakfast show earlier in the year
Provided by sarah.hall1@bbc.co.uk
Provider: Sarah Jeynes/BBC
Copyright: BBC
Big Read
4 min read
world news
Putin’s drone threat to France should be a wake-up call
Russia has a wide range of choices if it continues stepping up its campaign against Europe.
It could develop its more furtive programme of attacks targeting countries including France, Italy and Britain with actions that are akin to low-grade state terrorism.
The shadow fleet threat
Spanish newspaper El Mundo described Russian plans to mount attack drones in containers on its shadow fleet, to launch them against France, Spain and Italy.
The plot was disclosed following what’s been widely described as a warning to those countries from the CIA, although both France and Italy denied receiving any specific warning from the US.
Caption: PORTLAND, ENGLAND – AUGUST 10: Two hydrofoil kite surfers pass the offshore tug and supply ship FS Aries which alongside the oil tanker Smyrtos as it continues to sit outside Portland harbour, on August 10, 2026 in Portland, United Kingdom. The oil tanker operated as part of Russia’s shadow fleet and was intercepted by British Forces in the English Channel in June. (Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)
Photographer: Finnbarr Webster
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images Europe
Copyright: 2026 Finnbarr Webster
Analysis
4 min read
The weakest parts
This month, Emmanuel Macron called leaders into the country’s crisis centre for a briefing on Russian threats.
Many previously imagined that lying at the far end of Europe from Russia, France was not in immediate danger.
But that overlooked Russia’s long-term investment in delivering damage at enormous distances through cyber and proxy attacks.
That means Putin can strike not just at those parts of Nato that it can drive to, but at the weakest parts of the alliance.
Putin’s grey war
A Russian “attack” can mean everything from a full-blown invasion of a Nato country, to what is already happening, like sponsoring more and bigger proxy and cyber attacks far behind the front lines.
Denmark’s Defence Intelligence Service has said there are no signs Russia is preparing for an “invasion” of another neighbour, but that the risk of some other form of military attack is “low but growing”.
Sunday morning’s arrests in a small village near RAF Fairford, with the involvement of counter-terrorism police, show the threat of hostile action in the UK is real.
transport
Avanti West Coast trains to be nationalised
Parts of the country could be completely cut off in the run-up to Christmas on strike days (Photo: John Young)
The Transport Secretary said the operator has been underperforming “for years” as it becomes the latest service to be brought back into public ownership.
Andy Burnham said the service had failed people “time and time again” with cancellations and overcrowding.
What you need to know
Avanti West Coast train services will be nationalised from March 2027, when its contract ends.
Its London hub is Euston station, with services running to Wales, Manchester, Liverpool, Blackpool and Scotland.
All train services under Department for Transport contracts, including Avanti, are in the process of being transferred to public ownership.
Explained
2 min read
Reactions from the sector
“For years, we’ve heard stories of Avanti underperforming, with passengers left paying the price. Enough is enough,” Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said.
Caption: LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 06: Passengers look towards the departure boards as trains are cancelled and delayed from leaving Euston after a major disruption to rail service in the Midlands and northwest England on August 06, 2026 in London, England. National Rail has said a power failure at a communications centre has affected five rail companies: Avanti West Coast, East Midlands, Northern, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Photographer: Leon Neal
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images Europe
Copyright: 2026 Getty Images
Caption: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – SEPTEMBER 1: UK Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander arrives at 10 Downing Street to attend the first Cabinet meeting of the new parliamentary session following Parliament’s summer recess in London, United Kingdom, on September 1, 2026. (Photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Photographer: Anadolu
Provider: Anadolu via Getty Images
Source: Anadolu
Conversely, Andy Mellors, managing director at Avanti West Coast, said: “We’re proud of what we’ve achieved over the last six years – from refurbishing our Pendolino fleet and introducing our new Evero trains to running more services than ever before.”
The results for customers
Labour claims nationalisation will mean fewer delays and cancellations.
This is thanks to a £10m investment in power and signalling maintenance, faster and more reliable services, upgraded facilities at Euston, and more stable internet connection on board trains.
Train operator Avanti West Coast is running a reduced service on Sundays until the end of May amid industrial action from RMT members (Photo: Luciana Guerra/PA)
Several rail firms around the country are already publicly owned, including Great Anglia and South Western Railway.
Caption: LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – AUGUST 07: Bodhana Sivanandan, a nine-year-old chess prodigy, competes in the British Chess Championships at St. George’s Hall on August 07, 2025 in Liverpool, England. The 111th British Chess Championships are taking place in Liverpool between 31 July to 10 August, with competitors vying for the title in the women’s, men’s, juniors’ and over-60 groups. Organized by the??English Chess Federation, the competition has been run annually – apart from war years – since 1904. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Photographer: Christopher Furlong
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images Europe
Copyright: 2025 Getty Images
news
Chess prodigy, 11, becomes youngest woman grandmaster
A London schoolgirl has made history while representing England at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan.
Former chancellor, Rachel Reeves, called the young player “a chess superstar”.
Play by play account
Caption: Bodhana Sivanandan, age 11, moves a piece as she plays a posed chess game with a Reuters journalist while filming part of an interview segment at Harrow Chess Club in Harrow, London, Britain, April 23, 2026. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Photographer: Jaimi Joy
Provider: REUTERS
Source: REUTERS
Bodhana Sivanandan scored eight points across 11 games, qualifying for the title of woman grandmaster.
The International Chess Federation confirmed this performance made her the youngest person to gain the lifelong title.
3 min read
What makes a champion?
Neither of Sivanandan’s parents are good at chess. She taught herself to play during lockdown using YouTube tutorials.
She entered her first tournament at Harrow Chess Club in 2021.
Interview
3 min read
3 min read
What Bodhana has said
After she won the British Women’s Championship earlier this year, she said: “I want to become a [full] grandmaster as soon as possible.”
Caption: Bodhana Sivanandan, age 11, moves a piece as she plays a posed chess game with a Reuters journalist while filming part of an interview segment at Harrow Chess Club in Harrow, London, Britain, April 23, 2026. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Photographer: Jaimi Joy
Provider: REUTERS
Source: REUTERS
She now has two of the three “norms” required to become an International Master, the next rank up on the path to becoming a grandmaster.
migration
Women and child die attempting to cross Channel
Caption: TOPSHOT – Migrants try to board a smuggler’s boat off the beach of Equihen-Plage, northern France, on September 23, 2026. The body of a man was found on the beach at Neufchatel-Hardelot (Pas-de-Calais) on September 23, 2026, morning, shortly after an attempted migrants departure for England, AFP journalists observed. His death was pronounced shortly after 9:00 a.m. by the fire brigade, AFP noted. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: SAMEER AL-DOUMY
Provider: AFP via Getty Images
Source: AFP
Copyright: AFP or licensors
A 10-year-old child and two women in their 30s have died just off the coast of France, near Calais.
Andy Burnham’s spokesman said the tragedy was a “stark reminder of the dangers posed by criminal gangs”.
What you need to know
Caption: People thought to be migrants wade in the water as they attempt to board a small boat off the coast of Hardelot, France, during an attempt to cross the English Channel. Picture date: Wednesday July 29, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire
Photographer: Gareth Fuller
Provider: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire
Source: PA
French authorities rescued 102 people from a dinghy which had left Bleriot Plage.
At least 17 people, including children, have now died attempting to cross the Channel this year.
Big Read
5 min read
The timeline of events
What happened this morning and when:
The dinghy pushed off from Bleriot Plage, near Calais, on Monday morning.
French maritime police received a distress call after the boat got into trouble in the water.
A rescue ship and Navy helicopter were sent to the scene with a medical team.
The emergency responders were unable to save the child and two women.
French officials said the deaths were likely due to crushing rather than drowning, due to overcrowding on the boat.
The official response
The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said: “We’re deeply saddened to hear about the deaths in France today.
“It is a stark reminder of the dangers posed by the criminal gangs who exploit vulnerable people for profit, and we will continue to work relentlessly.”
An investigation has been opened into the incident.
Big Read
3 min read
1 min read
Labour insiders believe that getting rid of the triple lock could be a quid pro quo for Burnham’s care blueprint.
The triple lock ensures that the state pension rises each year in line with the highest of earnings, inflation or 2.5 per cent.
The level of savings from getting rid of it would depend on what it is replaced with. However, scrapping the triple lock would not cover the full cost of free social care and would likely have to be paired with a tax increase.
On Monday, Chancellor John Healey refused to confirm that committing to the triple lock would be in the next Labour manifesto, telling the BBC: “The manifesto will be the manifesto at the time”.
In the past, Labour’s trade union allies have been stalwart defenders of the lock, but there are signs that outright union opposition to scrapping it is now melting away.
One senior union source told The i Paper: “In the long term it’s completely unsustainable.”
The source acknowledged the “risk” of going into an election with a promise to scrap lock, but said such a move could prove successful if the savings were explicitly earmarked to pay for social care.
Not all union leaders are convinced. Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, told The i Paper that it “would be an absolute disaster zone” akin to Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to cut winter fuel payments.
“We need to look at other ways to pay for some of these things that isn’t constantly going back to workers, the working class, everyday people, and of course in this instance, pensioners,” she said.
Some Labour grandees, such as former home secretary Lord Blunkett and Baroness Harman, the former deputy Labour leader, have already called for the lock to be abolished.
On Monday, former party leader Neil Kinnock – whom Burnham has identified as a mentor – suggested that it could be changed.
Asked whether Burnham should drop it to help pay for free social care, Lord Kinnock told The i Paper: “I am not sure of the options but I am certain that if there is a change it will have to provide for alternatives that give support to people who are still on relatively low retirement incomes. And I think it will.”
Dale Vince, the green tycoon who is a major Labour donor, told The i Paper that the lock had “done its job” and should be dispensed with.
He argued that it had pulled pensioners out of poverty “but now it’s an imbalance in our society”, adding: “There are other groups of people that are struggling much more relative to pensioners, and the triple lock is now over the top.”
Vince, who has donated millions to the Labour Party, suggested an inflation-linked mechanism could replace the current triple guarantee.
At a fringe event in Liverpool, pensions minister Torsten Bell told The i Paper that Labour would abide by its manifesto commitment to maintain the lock for the whole of this Parliament. “We made a manifesto commitment, we’re going to stick to it,” he said.
Bell did however engage in discussion about how the mechanism could be reformed.
He cautioned against replacing the triple lock with a single earnings link. “Some of the proposals I see of people saying ‘just scrap the triple lock’ don’t learn enough from the last 15 years, which is you have these phases where inflation goes through the roof,” he said.
“I don’t basically support proposals which just say ‘scrap the triple lock’ and go to an earnings uprating.”
It would be possible to reform the lock in a way which adjusted for periods of high inflation. The Resolution Foundation – a think-tank which Bell used to run – has proposed moving to an Australian-style system where pensions track earnings growth but are protected from temporary price shocks.
While Burnham has said he wants to work with other parties on building a cross-party consensus on social care, any attempt to include reforming the triple lock in this process may be destined to fall flat.
A Liberal Democrat source said that party leader Sir Ed Davey “is never going to touch it” because it would jeopardise Lib Dem support in former Conservative seats in the south of England.
“Think about the ‘Blue Wall’, think about all those pensioners, there’s just no way,” they added.
However, the source said that the triple lock was a “batshit” policy.