Nigel Farage is expected to commit Reform UK to keeping the triple lock on pensions, a sign the party is looking to bolster its support among older voters before next month’s local elections.
Farage has previously questioned the wisdom of maintaining the lock, prompting suggestions of a split with Reform’s economy spokesman, Robert Jenrick, a vocal supporter of the policy. However, the party is now expected to formally commit to the lock as a key element of the party’s manifesto.
The policy means the state pension rises each year in line with inflation, earnings or by 2.5 per cent, whichever is the highest of the three measures.
Critics say that the policy is unfair because it directs government resources disproportionately towards older voters. The full state pension is now worth approximately 14 per cent more than it would have been if it had followed average earnings growth since 2011.
However, the policy is popular with voters. Polling by YouGov last year found it was supported by more than 60 per cent of the public, rising to 86 per cent among over-65s.
About a third of Reform voters are over 65 and would potentially lose out if the party decided to scrap the triple lock. A further 30 per cent are aged between 50 and 64, while only 8 per cent are under 24.
Reform sources said that by backing the triple lock the party could “kill off” the Tories in May’s elections. The Tories have already committed themselves to the policy and Kemi Badenoch, their leader, said the party “created the triple lock and we stand by it”.
The move to formalise the triple lock as Reform policy comes despite the fact that Farage has, in the past, seemed ambivalent to it. Economists have raised concerns about its affordability and the Office for Budget Responsibility said last year it would cost £15.5 billion a year to maintain the triple lock by the end of the decade.
Farage has previously expressed concerns that the UK’s pensions bill was “unaffordable on a national level”. In February, after Jenrick was made the party’s economics spokesman, the former Tory said he backed the policy, saying it was vital to provide “dignity and security to older people”.
But at the same event, Farage questioned whether the policy would form part of Reform’s election manifesto. Asked if he had changed his mind and backed Jenrick’s position he said: “I haven’t changed my mind. It’s open for debate. Everything is open for debate.”