A former Cabinet minister has become the most prominent serving Labour MP to publicly admit the state pension triple lock should be scrapped to lessen the financial burden on young people.
Liam Byrne, the chief secretary to the Treasury under Gordon Brown who famously left a note for his successor saying there was “no money” remaining when Labour lost power in 2010, is one of the first MPs to break ranks with his party over the issue.
A growing number of Labour MPs have expressed private frustrations over the party’s commitment to the triple lock, which guarantees that the state pension goes up each year with either inflation, wage increases or by 2.5 per cent – whichever is highest.
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Man shot at University of Surrey campus
A 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a man was shot with a crossbow at the University of Surrey.
Crossbow attack on campus
Officers were called to reports of a man being shot with the weapon at Manor Park Student Village, Guildford, at around 10:00am.
The University of Surrey said a member of campus safety had been “seriously injured”.
Ch Supt Jon Groenen said the suspect was detained at the scene shortly after the incident.
A “significant” emergency service team remains at the scene.
POLITICS
3 min read
Caption: FIFA World Cup 2026 signage at MetLife Stadium during an Emergency Response Drill and training exercise ahead of the World Cup, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S., April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Bing Guan
Photographer: Bing Guan
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Source: REUTERS
sport
Fifa bans fans from taking water bottles into World Cup stadiums
Fans at this summer’s World Cup will have to pay for water bottles in stadiums despite concerns over temperatures which are predicted to exceed 30°C.
What’s been decided?
No reusable bottles
Fans were previously allowed to bring empty, transparent bottles below one litre in capacity, but this has now been banned.
Caption: MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – JUNE 18: Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid pours water over his face during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group H match between Real Madrid CF and Al Hilal at Hard Rock Stadium on June 18, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Photographer: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA
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Caption: MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – JUNE 25: Fans of Fluminese with shirts on the head during the heat during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group F match between Mamelodi Sundowns FC and Fluminense FC at Hard Rock Stadium on June 25, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
Photographer: Catherine Ivill – AMA
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Copyright: 2025 Catherine Ivill – AMA
Other items banned
Cups, jars, cans and other bottles were already banned in every stadium where the World Cup takes place to “prevent risk and injury to players and attendees”.
Mandatory drinks breaks for players in hot weather
The footballers themselves, however, will be encouraged to stay hydrated with breaks in play for them to drink.
Fans will have to buy drinks at the stadium, which could cost around £4.50 for a bottle of water.
On The Road
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FOOTBALL
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news
Why Sainsbury’s is ditching brown eggs
Raw chicken eggs in woman’s hands. – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Sainsbury’s is ditching brown eggs and switching to white for its own-brand cartons in a bid to hit net zero.
‘Aiming towards’ only white eggs
Sainsbury’s has confirmed it will be stopping the sale of brown eggs completely, after finding they carry a 12.7 per cent higher carbon footprint than white eggs. They aim to be net zero internally by 2035 and across supply chains by 2050.
White-laying hens are smaller, meaning they eat less, and have a longer lifespan.
Caption: Sainsbury’s Golden Yolk Free Range British Eggs, Taste the Difference x6 328g
https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/sainsburys-free-range-white-golden-yolk-egg-taste-the-difference-x6
LIFESTYLE
7 min read
Taste the difference?
While brown eggs tend to be larger than white eggs, there are no inherent differences. It is also believed that hens that lay white eggs are less prone to feather pecking.
The digesters are being used to justify the expansion of intensive poultry farms (Photo: Mint Images RF/Getty)
Caption: White chicken amidst feeders in production factory
Photographer: Westend61
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Shoppers turned against white eggs in the 1970s when rumours spread that they had been bleached.
White-laying hens now make up just 15 per cent of the national flock, meaning it will be difficult for Sainsbury’s to meet its aim.
big read
Putin’s ‘proxies’ on UK streets
A neck massage pillow, which exploded in a postal warehouse, is one of a rising number of attacks carried out by people paid to act as “proxies” for the Russian intelligence services, UK intelligence believes.
Russian sabotage on the rise
The fire in July 2024, which appeared at first to be an unremarkable incident, was in fact the result of a plot hatched by Russian military intelligence to send self-igniting devices around Europe, disguised as innocuous gadgets.
One caught fire shortly before being loaded onto a plane in Germany. Another burst into flames in a lorry driving through Poland.
Caption: EMBARGOED TO 0001 WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 30
File photo dated 20/11/15 of the Royal Mail’s South Midlands Mail Centre, Northampton. Royal Mail is to begin using smart stickers to digitally track its containers as part of a scheme to improve efficiency and give insights into how to cut carbon by optimising vehicle use. Issue date: Wednesday October 30, 2024. PA Photo. It will see Royal Mail attach digital tags from tech firm Wiliot – small sticker-like tags which house tiny computers and are automatically detected by nearby Bluetooth devices as they travel through the mail network – to its 850,000 containers which are used to transport parcels and letters around the country. See PA story TECHNOLOGY RoyalMail. Photo credit should read: Chris Radburn/PA Wire
Photographer: Chris Radburn
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Analysis
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Cases across Europe
Caption: DAVENTRY, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 16: Some of the millions of items pass though the Royal Mail Midlands ‘Super Hub’ and the automated centre sorts and sifts parcels and packages for Christmas delivery on December 16, 2024 in Daventry, England. The Royal Mail’s ‘super hub’ in Daventry spans 53 acres, and can process up to 90,000 items of mail per hour, with each parcel taking only seven minutes to be run through the system. On the site’s busiest day of the year, December 18, the organisation expects to deliver over 35 million letters and over nine million parcels to addresses around the UK. Today it was announced that the sale of the Royal Mail’s parent company to a Czech billionaire, Daniel Kretinsky, was approved by the government. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Photographer: Christopher Furlong
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Copyright: 2024 Getty Images
Trial in Lithuania
A group of men are currently in court over parcels sent to the UK, Germany and Poland.
Arson attacks
In March 2024, a British man set fire to Ukrainian operated warehouses in London and Spain.
Two Firefighters – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Caption: GREAT YARMOUTH, ENGLAND – JUNE 18: People stroll on the promenade of Gorleston On Sea on June 18, 2024 in Great Yarmouth, England. Situated on the east coast of England, Great Yarmouth has been a Conservative stronghold for the past 14 years, represented by Sir Brandon Lewis since the 2010 general election, who announced in March that he will not be running for re-election. The new Conservative candidate is James Clark, a British Army officer known for running against former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. However, recent polling for the July 4, 2024 election suggests a potential shift to Labour, represented by Keir Cozens. Reform UK is also gaining ground with Rupert Lowe, former chairman of Southampton Football Club, standing as their candidate. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Photographer: Christopher Furlong
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Source: Getty Images Europe
Spies at the seaside
Six Bulgarian spies were jailed last May for spying on political dissidents from Great Yarmouth.
Cash rewards without knowing who you work for
Some proxies have been operating online. The National Cyber Security Centre said earlier this year that “Russian-aligned hacktivist groups” had conducted cyber attacks which temporarily disabled the websites of several British local councils, as well as targeting governments and companies in Nato member states.
While some are politically motivated, others are merely seeking a quick payday.
NEWS
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NEWS
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Russia’s intelligence operation abroad
Russian intelligence services are picking up what they can online
MI5 Director General Ken McCallum, said proxies were “disposable” and often amateurish, resulting in a “steady stream” of plots being disrupted before completion.
Experts emphasise that the most credible risks stem from small, covert operatives or lone actors, rather than large-scale, coordinated attacks (Photo: Jonathan Brady/PA)
Vicki Evans, the Senior National Co-ordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, said last year that some arrangements are “very loose” and many involve relatively small amounts of money, or no payment at all.
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poltiics
The bitter Reform-Restore feud taking over Makerfield
Parties vying to win the Makerfield by-election are locked in a war of words over how much support Rupert Lowe’s party, Restore Britain, will claim.
New party claims surge in support
Although only one constituency-wide poll has Restore at 7 per cent, party insiders put it at 20 per cent, because of what they’re hearing on the doorsteps.
The party is expecting 1,000 people to campaign at an action day on 13 June.
Exclusive
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What is Restore Britain?
Former Reform MP Rupert Lowe founded the Restore umbrella after his public falling out with Nigel Farage. Under the ultra-local brand Great Yarmouth First, they won nine county council seats in Norfolk last month.
Caption: BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM – 2024/09/20: Reform UK MP for Great Yarmouth Rupert Lowe speaks during the Reform UK’s annual conference at the NEC Centre. The party, which secured five seats in the general election, began its two-day conference after Farage announced he was giving up ownership of Reform UK’s shares. (Photo by Tejas Sandhu/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Photographer: SOPA Images
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Copyright: ? 2024 SOPA Images
Caption: Great Yarmouth dispatch – Rupert Lowe addressing crowds
Lowe and his supporters rail against what he calls the “relentless creep of radical Islam”. Restore wants the mass deportation of “millions” of illegal migrants, to abolish the asylum system and remove benefits from every foreign national.
Nigel Farage is being criticised for his response to the Henry Nowak murder. (Picture: YouTube)
Reform still confident
Long term, no, we’re not worried by Restore. Everything he [Lowe] has done has ended in disaster.”
A senior party source said that though Restore Britain might “nibble in 3 percent”, this would not impact the “big score” Reform is expecting to win.
Political strategist Scarlett Maguire said Farage’s reaction to the Henry Nowak case shows his party is “spooked” by Restore, though.
What about the other parties?
A Labour source working on the Makerfield campaign for Andy Burnham said anecdotal evidence suggested Restore were enjoying somewhere between 10 and 13 per cent in the constituency, near Wigan.
Labour strategists hope for a split in the right-wing vote between Reform and Restore to usher in their candidate.
Exclusive
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OPINION
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Opinion | “Nigel Farage is responsible for these riots,” writes Ian Dunt. “His behaviour over the last 24 hours demonstrates precisely what he is: he is a persistent threat to national security.” “He didn’t give a damn about the wishes of Henry Nowak’s family.” Read Ian’s full piece on @theipaper website.
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Two charged after clashes at Henry Nowak protest
Two men have been charged following clashes at a protest against the death of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak.
Caption: Demonstrators push against a police line near Portswood Police Station, following a protest march in Southampton, southern England, on June 2, 2026, held in reaction to the Police’s handling of the detention of victim Henry Nowak, following the conviction of his murderer Vickrum Digwa. Body camera footage of dying student Henry Nowak, who was handcuffed by British police after being stabbed by Sikh man Vickrum Digwa, and falsely accused of racially abusing his murderer sparked outrage Tuesday. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: JUSTIN TALLIS
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Source: AFP
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Charges after violent protest
Police were pelted with missiles during the disorder on Tuesday evening near the home of Mr Nowak’s killer, Vickrum Digwa, in Southampton. Matt Styler, 50, of Gosport, has been charged with assault by beating of an emergency worker. Daniel Frost, 44, of Southampton, has been charged with violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon.
Caption: SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JUNE 2: Riot police stand guard as protesters gather near the location where Henry Nowak died during a demonstration over the Police’s handling of the incident, on June 2, 2026 in Southampton, England. Far-right and nationalist groups have actively organised demonstrations and vigils following revelations from the ongoing murder trial of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak. The case involves the fatal stabbing of Nowak in Southampton in December 2025 by Vickrum Digwa. Court details revealed that Digwa falsely claimed to arriving officers that he was the victim of a racist attack, leading responding police to temporarily handcuff the fatally wounded teenager before discovering his injuries. (Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)
Photographer: Finnbarr Webster
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Source: Getty Images Europe
Exclusive
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Attacker jailed
Digwa, 23, was jailed on Monday for a minimum of 21 years, after a jury convicted him of the murder of Mr Nowak.
Digwa stabbed the teenager five times using a 21cm blade he was allowed to carry as part of his Sikh faith.
He then lied to officers at the scene, claiming that he had been the victim of a racist attack.
Bodycam footage shows officers handcuffing and arresting Mr Nowak, who said he had been stabbed. He died at the scene.
Sir Keir Starmer is to meet the student’s family and has criticised Elon Musk for stirring division in the UK on social media.
Musk ‘interfering’ in UK, says Starmer
[He is] trying to whip up division – that is not who we are in Britain.
The Prime Minister condemned Elon Musk after the billionaire owner of X weighed in on the case, claiming in a pos that “official policy requires them to be racist against Whites”.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives to attend a state banquet with US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (Picture: Evan Vucci/Reuters)
Starmer has also said Nigel Farage’s call for “pure, cold rage” was “unforgiveable”.
Hampshire police’s response
A third of officers from one UK police force felt unsafe dealing with the public during lockdowns, according to new research. (Photo: David Cheskin/PA Wire)
The Chief Constable has apologised to Mr Nowak’s family.
One officer involved in the case has resigned, while three others remain.
An investigation has been launched.
Big Read
7 min read
Caption: Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon as seen from a position across the border in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel on May 7, 2026. Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon, particularly the south, since a truce came in force since April 17, with Hezbollah retaliating by launching attacks on Israeli troops. Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed more than 2,700 people and displaced more than a million, particularly from southern and eastern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, since March 2. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: JALAA MAREY
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world
Israel and Lebanon agree new ceasefire – what you need to know
The two countries have agreed to a new ceasefire in hostilities for now, but the rejection of the deal by Hezbollah means it might not last long. Meanwhile, talks between Iran and the US have stalled.
What has been agreed?
Caption: TOPSHOT – (2L/R) Israel’s Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, State Department Chief of Staff Daniel Holler, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh attend a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese delegations hosted by the United States at the State Department in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2026. Israel and Lebanon agreed Wednesday to implement a ceasefire but said it would require a “complete cessation” of fire by Iran-backed Hezbollah, according to a joint statement after US-led talks in Washington. The two sides, which do not have formal diplomatic relations, also agreed to create “pilot zones” in which the Lebanese armed forces “will take exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors.” (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: OLIVER CONTRERAS
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Source: AFP
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Lebanon and Israel have agreed a truce after a fourth round of talks.
Hezbollah, the Iran backed militia, must withdraw from key areas.
Talks will resume later in June with the aim of a permanent peace deal.
Analysis
4 min read
The latest from Lebanon
Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged attacks since the start of the conflict in Iran on 2 March, and fragile ceasefires since April have been repeatedly breached.
In an escalation in the last few days, the Israel Defence Forces seized the strategic 900-year-old Beaufort Castle and launched strikes on Beirut, prompting a mass displacement of the population from the capital.
Caption: An Israeli flag and a flag of the Golani Brigade fly on Beaufort Castle, as seen from Marjayoun, southern Lebanon, June 1, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Photographer: Stringer
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Source: REUTERS
NEWS
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What have Hezbollah said?
Any acceptable deal must begin with a full Israeli withdrawal from all Lebanese territory.
Hezbollah was not invited to the talks hosted by the US and have rejected the ceasefire.
Caption: FILE PHOTO: Hezbollah members parade during a rally marking al-Quds Day, (Jerusalem Day) in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanon April 5, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
Photographer: Mohamed Azakir
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Source: REUTERS
Since the deal is conditional on the armed group’s withdrawal from designated security zones, it is unlikely to hold for long if they do not withdraw.
What does this mean for Iran?
Donald Trump has insisted that peace talks with Iran will now continue, saying yesterday they are going “very well”. He reportedly clashed with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and asked him to call off strikes on Lebanon on Monday.
Caption: President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Photographer: Alex Brandon
Provider: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Source: AP
Copyright: Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Caption: NEW DELHI, INDIA – MAY 15: (—-EDITORIAL USE ONLY – MANDATORY CREDIT – ‘IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY’ / HANDOUT’ – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS—-) Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks during a press conference on the second day of the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in New Delhi, India, on May 15, 2026. (Photo by Iranian Foreign Ministry / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Photographer: Anadolu
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Iran suspended talks on Monday in protest over Israel’s continued violation of the ceasefire in Lebanon, and negotiators have reported no significant progress since the Israel-Lebanon deal was agreed.
Caption: TEHRAN, IRAN – FEBRUARY 11: Missiles produced by Iran’s armed forces are displayed near a row of Iranian flags during commemorations to mark the anniversary of the 1979 Iranian Revolution on February 11, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. In that year, Ruhollah Khomeini led an overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979 and established himself as Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
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analysis – world
Trump’s crumbling ceasefire is now a major personal crisis
The most serious escalation in fighting between the US and Iran since the April ceasefire has left the truce at risk of collapse, threatening a personal crisis for Donald Trump and global economic pain.
security
How China is using LinkedIn to recruit British spies
The information unknowingly sent to Chinese spies can be collected and combined to ‘place the lives of military personnel at risk, weaken economic prosperity and enable interference’ (Photo: Getty)
China’s military intelligence services are using websites like LinkedIn and Indeed to recruit unwitting British jobseekers to supply sensitive information, MI5 has warned.
Here are the warning signs to look out for when jobhunting.
Always be on alert
Who is being targeted?
Soldiers flying military drones near Warminster, England. Defence chiefs admit the UK needs to ‘improve’ its integrated air and missile defence systems (Photo: Finnbarr Webster/Getty)
The Five Eyes alliance (the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) warned military personnel, security-cleared officials working in intelligence, academics, and journalists were at risk.
Big Read
4 min read
Chinese spies use fake LinkedIn profiles to recruit
The alert said Chinese spies – under account names such as Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen – were using “false personas”, posing as headhunters and connecting with individuals in Parliament to “collect information and lay the groundwork for long-term relationships”.
The i Paper exposed two of these last year.
Exclusive
4 min read
How will I know I’m being targeted?
Beware large payments offered via third parties
‘Aggressive strategy’
Adverts on Indeed and Upwork for analysts specialising in foreign policy.
Virtual interviews
Recruiters conceal their identity and may probe about government access.
Follow-up request
Clients might request “privileged information” via secure messaging.
NEWS
4 min read
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Russian President Vladimir Putin trying to lead Europe into a trap by escalating tensions with Nato? The accusation by some officials comes after a Russian drone crashed into a block of flats in eastern Romania near the border with Ukraine, injuring two people. Russia inflicting civilian casualties in Nato states has implications on member countries like the UK. #russia #putin #galati #worldnews
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However, many MPs also believe that ditching the annual state pension increase guarantee is too politically toxic for the Labour Government to attempt.
But despite those concerns, Byrne now joins a small number of MPs to state publicly that the party must accept the policy is unaffordable in the long term and risks triggering tax rises and wage stagnation for younger generations.
In an essay for centre-right policy think-tank Bright Blue, shared exclusively with The i Paper, he argues for “a gradual move from the triple lock’s ratchet effect toward a more stable uprating mechanism”.
This could involve a “smoothed earnings link”, according to Heidi Karjalainen at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think-tank, whereby the state pension increases in line with average wage growth, but can switch to rise in line with inflation during periods of economic instability.
Byrne argues that the baby boomer generation – those born between 1946 and 1964 – is the “primary driver of Britain’s long-term fiscal crisis”, with the cost of sustaining their pensions and healthcare threatening tax rises and lower net wages.
According to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the triple lock has cost around three times more than initial expectations and leaves public finances “asymmetrically exposed to shocks to inflation and earnings growth”.
It adds around 1.6 per cent of GDP to the state pension bill over the next 50 years, accounting for about half of the projected overall rise in pension spending.
“On current trajectories, that means protecting the incomes of older cohorts while the fiscal cost falls on the generation least equipped to bear it,” wrote Byrne.
He said a gradual move away from the triple lock – combined with redirecting the savings into a sovereign wealth fund – “offers a way to square this circle”.
Byrne backed a proposal by Sir Nicholas Lyons and the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce (CMIT) to invest savings from abolishing the triple lock into a national pension fund that builds wealth for future generations.
Karjalainen supported a “less volatile” pensions system – such as an Australian-style smoothed earnings link – which would be “a lot more predictable… both for public finances, but also for people when they’re considering their retirement incomes”.
However, she said investing savings into a national pensions fund rather than absorbing it into public finances risks short-term “uncertainty”, as changing the triple lock could take years to translate into significant spare cash.
Byrne joins a select few Labour MPs who have spoken out against the triple lock, as well as a growing number of former cross-party ministers.
Last November, Labour MP Chris Curtis said that the “triple lock inevitably cannot last forever”, and in April, his colleague Graeme Downie said it should be reformed to help fund a rise in defence spending.
Ex-Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt recently told the BBC that the triple lock is “not just unaffordable but actually immoral” as it is being partly funded by debt placed on younger generations.
Former Labour prime minister Tony Blair said last month that the generosity of the triple lock – brought in by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat government in 2010 – was “not affordable” in the long term.
Byrne: ‘End the triple lock to bolster younger generations’
By Liam Byrne, Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North
The fiscal pressure of sustaining the pensions and healthcare of the baby boomers threatens higher tax rates in the future, and hence lower net wages. The baby boomers are the primary driver of Britain’s long-term fiscal crisis. According to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) most recent long-term projections, current policy settings, demographic pressures and rising age-related expenditure will push public debt above 270% of GDP by the mid-2070s.
…
We need to alleviate the long-term pressure of the state pension system with a plan to switch to a fully funded system by the 2070s. Building this now would help reduce the pressure on gilts by providing some reassurance that the UK’s fiscal risks are under control. This will require some reform to the triple lock – now that the gap between pension incomes and earnings has been largely closed.
Sir Nicholas Lyons, working with the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce, notes that continuously increased spending on the State Pension is a central mechanism of today’s intergenerational imbalance. The triple lock is politically popular, but the OBR calculates that it adds around 1.6% of GDP to the state pension bill over the long term, accounting for roughly half of the total projected rise in pension spending.
On current trajectories, that means protecting the incomes of older cohorts while the fiscal cost falls on the generation least equipped to bear it. Lyons’s proposed direction — a gradual move from the triple lock’s ratchet effect toward a more stable uprating mechanism, with the fiscal savings redirected into a sovereign wealth fund — offers a way to square this circle.
The shift would require us, however, to invest the savings from more modest uprating into a national pension fund. A stylised model of those annual savings invested at a 6% return suggests such a fund could grow to roughly half of GDP by 2070, generating an annual return of around 3% to 3.5% of GDP. That would not replace the fiscal burden of the state pension, but it could make a major contribution to the wider pension bill while simultaneously rebuilding the UK’s long-term productive capacity in infrastructure, the energy transition and innovation.
* This is an extract from Liam Byrne’s essay on addressing intergenerational inequity from ‘Liberalism liberated’, a collection of essays by the think tank Bright Blue.