Farage fails to guarantee pensions triple lock but vows to axe benefits cap

Nigel Farage has declined to commit to the triple lock pensions guarantee as he said his party would scrap the two-child benefit cap because “it’s the right thing to do”.

The Reform UK leader also committed his party to fully reversing the winter fuel payment cuts announced by Labour upon entering government.

The two-child benefit limit was first announced in 2015 by the Conservatives and came into effect in 2017. It restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households.

Cabinet ministers have now said scrapping the two-child benefit cap is not off the table and last week Sir Keir Starmer U-turned on winter fuel payments, saying he wanted to look at widening eligibility for the payments worth up to £300.

During a press conference in central London the Reform UK leader said his measures were “aimed at British families”.

Mr Farage told reporters: “The triple lock for pensioners is not something we’ve addressed as yet. We will, between now and the next election. We are as you can see building out our policy platform.”

The “triple lock” guarantees state pensions will rise each year by whichever is highest: the annual rate of inflation, average growth in earnings, or 2.5%.

Mr Farage said the party is built around three key principles, “family, community and country”.

“That is why we believe lifting the two-child cap is the right thing to do,” he said.

“Not because we support a benefits culture, but because we believe for lower-paid workers this actually makes having children just a little bit easier for them.

“It’s not a silver bullet, it doesn’t solve all of those problems. But it helps them.”

He added that he believes that “having a transferable tax allowance between married people is the right thing to do”.

The spending on welfare would be paid for, Mr Farage claimed, by cutting net zero costs – which he said were worth £45 billion every year, the £4 billion spent every year on asylum seeker accommodation, as well as diversity and equality spending which he said amounted to £7 billion annually.

He also said reducing the spending on government bodies, Quangos, by 5% could save £65 billion across five years. He said his “optimistic” plans overall could save £350 billion.

He also claimed the cost of quantitative easing, where the Bank of England buys government bonds to increase the money supply into the system, cost more than Reform had predicted last year at £36 billion. The party had vowed to cut the amount spent on the measure.

He said: “So what we’re very good at is actually putting our finger on things and pointing out problems that nobody else has even thought of.”

He added: “I think you can see very clearly the direction that we’re going in. We can’t afford net zero, it’s destroying the country, we can’t afford DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion), it’s actually preventing many talented people from succeeding, we certainly can’t afford young undocumented males crossing the English Channel and living in five-star hotels with three square meals a day and free dental and health care.”

Deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats Daisy Cooper MP said Mr Farage wants to “privatise the NHS” and “come after people’s pensions”.

She said: “Kemi Badenoch will certainly be happy that she and Farage have found some common ground when she asks him for a pact.

“Liberal Democrats are proud to have introduced the triple lock, standing by those who have given so much to our society. Nigel Farage would rather abandon them.”

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak described the Reform UK leader as “a political fraud who’ll jump on any bandwagon to chase headlines”.

He said: “He is full of empty promises, writing cheques he knows will never be cashed. Because when it really counts, Farage always sides with the rich and powerful against working people.

“He ordered his MPs to vote against banning zero hours contracts and fire-and-rehire – practices that leave workers exploited and insecure. “

He added: “Who bankrolls Farage? Hedge fund managers and speculators – the same people profiting from economic chaos.

“He pretends to be anti-establishment, but in reality he’s as establishment as they come.”

Mr Farage insisted he could become the next prime minister, despite a new YouGov poll showing he comes second to all of the other leaders of the main political parties on who the public think would make the best prime minister.

The figures show Mr Farage trailing Sir Keir by 29% to 44%, Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey by 27% to 41%, and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch 25% to 29%. The Prime Minister’s figures compared to Mr Farage have improved by 8% since February.

Speaking in response to a question which asked whether a party could go from a handful of MPs to a parliamentary majority, he said: “History would suggest the answer to your question is no. Circumstances would suggest the answer is yes.

“Something extraordinary is happening; the collapse of confidence in two political parties that are pretty much merged.”

He also challenged the Prime Minister to a debate in a working man’s club before the next election.

He said: “That’s my open invitation to the Prime Minister. Let’s go to one of the former mining communities, let’s go somewhere that Labour have held the seat pretty much consistently since 1918. Whether the Prime Minister will enjoy a few beers with the lads and do the Channel 4 racing that afternoon, I’m not sure, but I am very, very happy to do so.”

Published: 27/05/2025 by Radio NewsHub