![\"Jeremy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/01H50PGSGM0X3Q1V14DYA4TA7P-1.jpg\")
\t\tJeremy Hunt called on all major parties to commit to scrapping the triple lock\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tMonday 08 June 2026 3:23 pm\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\tJeremy Hunt called on all major parties to commit to scrapping the triple lock\t<\/p>\n
Former chancellor Jeremy Hunt has warned that the triple lock on the state pension is acting as \u201can anchor drag on economic growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an interview with City AM, Hunt said that above-inflation rises to the state pension are being funded \u201cby more debt\u201d on future generations and called for every major party to pledge to remove the triple lock after the next election.<\/p>\n
The triple lock was introduced by David Cameron\u2019s coalition government and ensures that the state pension is hiked each year by either the rate of inflation, average wage growth or 2.5 per cent \u2013 whichever is higher.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t Labour has ruled out scrapping the triple lock, but former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair heaped pressure<\/a> on the government to drop the policy in his landmark intervention last month.<\/p>\n Triple lock \u2018isn\u2019t fair on future generations\u2019<\/p>\n Hunt, who served as Chancellor between 2022 and 2024, said he has accepted that the triple lock will not be dropped in this parliament but urged all major parties not to put it in their manifestos \u201cgoing forwards\u201d.<\/p>\n He said that \u201cthe cost of above-inflation rises in the state pension, as opposed to just inflation rises, is partly being funded by debt,\u201d adding that the arrangement is \u201cvery bad for economic growth because we have to pay for that debt through [the] \u00a3110bn a year that the Exchequer pays for that interest.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The veteran Tory MP said: \u201cThat\u2019s more than we spend on the police, more than we spend on schools, more than we spend on the entire defense budget.\u201d<\/p>\n He said he thinks the government should offer a \u201crock-solid guarantee\u201d that pensions will rise in line with inflation, but drew attention to the costs of above-inflation hikes.<\/p>\n Hunt said it is becoming harder to justify the triple lock to the electorate, which was introduced when pensioners were \u201cliving in very, very tough conditions\u201d.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cHow many people would think that it was fair for them to have an above-inflation increase in their pension if that was being paid for by more debt on their children and grandchildren?<\/p>\n \u201cI think most people would recognize that actually isn\u2019t fair on future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n
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