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If Andy Burnham messes with the pensions Triple Lock, it will be to his peril. Millions of voters will never forgive him, jeopardising his desire to remain in power beyond the next General Election.

He says he remains committed to keeping the measure despite a growing drumbeat of demands to ditch it. It would be political suicide if the Prime Minister caves in. He would be out of No 10 faster than he came in. Chief among those calling for the lock to be scaled back is his former economic adviser Lord O’Neill.

He says Burnham should rein in the “excesses” of Government expenditure and tackle “sacred cows”.

It is not the first time he has suggested this.

The calls are getting louder as the fallout from the Iran war continues to hit the economy.

Bond markets are in a tailspin, and the soaring cost of Government borrowing is deeply worrying.

Many of the Prime Minister‘s opponents say there are other ways of protecting the UK’s economic fortunes without picking pensioners’ pockets.

Reining in spending on needless benefits for starters, as well as cutting net zero subsidies. Slashing the size of the Civil Service is another, while there are mounting calls on the Government to fork out less on foreign nationals.

The Labour leader has also come under repeated pressure from Kemi Badenoch to rule out more tax rises.

Hiking them will drag the economy to its knees, she warns.

That would put the Triple Lock and many other things – including Mr Burnham’s job – at greater risk.