'Commit to triple lock or face ballot wipeout'

Anger after Farage refuses to guarantee it

- BY KATIE HARRIS AND MICHAEL KNOWLES

PARTIES that do not commit to the pensions triple lock face "annihilation" at the next general election, campaigners warned yesterday.

The basic and new state pension will increase by 4.8% next year under the policy, sparking fresh questions about the guarantee of an annual increase in line with average earnings, inflation or 2.5%, whichever is higher.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has warned he cannot guarantee the triple lock's future, and prominent Tory MPs Sir Edward Leigh and Tom Tugendhat have also criticised the policy.