Lib Dem MPs turn on Ed Davey, calling his triple lock defence 'nonsense' and 'for the birds'

From the Newshound archive · first published 1 October 2026 · last updated 2 October 2026.

Senior Liberal Democrat MPs have broken openly with party leader Sir Ed Davey after he came out against Prime Minister Andy Burnham's proposal to strip the earnings element from the pension triple lock from 2030. Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Tom Gordon called Davey's defence of the policy "nonsense" that "gaslights an entire generation", saying that as a millennial he found the argument that the triple lock helps younger people "downright insulting". A separate Lib Dem MP told the BBC that a majority of the parliamentary party had no appetite to oppose Burnham's changes. Davey had argued that the reform "would put more pensioners into poverty" and leave millennials facing inadequate pensions when they retire.

Burnham's plan removes the earnings link from 2030, leaving pensions rising by whichever is higher of inflation or 2.5%, saving an estimated £15bn a year.

Gordon wrote on X that millennials are already "locked out of the housing market, paying higher taxes" and repaying student loans — making Davey's line "at worst downright insulting".

Scotland's First Minister John Swinney has separately claimed the reforms will leave Scottish pensioners £4bn a year worse off by 2050, though Scottish Labour's Michael Marra accused him of "misrepresenting" the impact.