Burnham faces first PMQs as ally calls for triple lock cut

Andy Burnham will face his first Prime Minister's Questions today, with the state pension triple lock already under fire from within his own party.

The Independent reports a Labour ally has warned the UK cannot afford the triple lock guarantee, while GB News carries remarks from an MP urging the Prime Minister to scrap it and "make cuts". The Express and Sun both flag wider Budget tax hike fears, with the Sun noting pressure mounts on welfare and defence spending. The Mirror reports Burnham is being urged to "get real" about the cost of keeping the guarantee, which ties annual pension rises to the highest of inflation, earnings growth, or a floor.

The triple lock has survived every government since its introduction, protected by the electoral arithmetic of an ageing population. The mechanism locks in rises regardless of the fiscal backdrop - a ratchet that clicks one way. The question now is whether a new administration can break what its predecessors would not, or whether the same electoral logic that created the lock still holds the key.

Watch the Commons today. The answer to whether Burnham holds the line or concedes ground will arrive in real time, not in a briefing.