A politically realistic reform of the triple lock

The triple lock is in the news again: the UK’s cost of living tsar, appointed by Sir Keir Starmer, recently said that it was “mathematically unsustainable and”profoundly unfair.” The OBR estimates that it will cost £15.5bn more a year by the end of this parliament than it would have under average earnings alone; a not insignificant amount (0.5 per cent of GDP) for government spending. OBR expects…