Outrage as Ed Balls reveals Labour plan to 'cap state pension' in three year freeze on welfare expenditure Ed Balls opposed Coalition measures to cut the welfare bill However, yesterday he announced he may cap the state pension himself Tory minister Matthew Hancock said: 'Their policy must be a real mess' Turmoil: Ed Balls' remarks on pensions seemed to take some in his own party by surprise Labour was in turmoil yesterday after Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls suggested he would be prepared to cap the state pension if his party wins the 2015 general election. Mr Balls insisted pension spending would be included in a three-year cap on welfare expenditure, saying the "clear large bulk" of social security spending went to those over 60. Welfare payments would have to be considered "across the piece," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics programme. Tories immediately seized on his remarks, which appeared to take even some senior colleagues by surprise. Economic Secretary to the Treasury Sajid Javid said: "Now we know when Labour say they want to cut welfare, what they actually mean is cut the basic state pension." Labour opposed Coalition measures to bring down the welfare bill, including a £26,000 cap on households and below inflation benefit increases. Last week, in an attempt to regain credibility on the economy, Labour leader Ed Miliband said the party was prepared to back the Government's idea of a cap on so-called "structural" welfare spending for three years from 2015-16. The proposal, which would mean a limit on the parts of welfare that do not vary in line with economic growth, such as unemployment benefits, was first made by Chancellor George Osborne in March's Budget. Basic pension spending will be excluded from the Coalition's welfare cap. But Mr Balls yesterday said it should be included in Labour's version. Pension spending: Mr Balls said he wanted to cap the state pension as the bulk of social security goes to the over-60s He said: "George Osborne is going to announce his cap in two weeks" time. I do not know whether he would exclude pension spending or include it. Our plan is to include it. It's important to look across the whole welfare state to say what are the drivers of expenditure. The clear large bulk, the majority of most welfare spending is in fact going to people over 60. That's the truth and we should look across the piece. As controversy grew over his remarks, given the power of the "grey vote," Mr Balls sought to clarify the situation by insisting Labour supported the coalition's "triple lock" mechanism, which guarantees the state pension rises by whichever is highest out of inflation, average earnings, or 2.5 per cent. "We committed to triple-lock on state pension - got to monitor long-term pension spend - Tory reaction very rattled," Mr Balls wrote on Twitter. Credibility: Mr Balls' announcement was his latest attempt to show himself trustworthy on the economy, to take on Chancellor George Osborne A Labour source insisted there was no question of the party unpicking the triple lock, but left open the question of whether the state pension age might rise faster than planned to control spending. There is no indication from Labour at all that we would be cutting pensions. The structural areas where we can really make progress are cutting the costs of failure, in areas like worklessness and housing benefit. Dr Ros Altmann, a former Government pensions adviser, said: "As the number of pensioners is set to rise and their living standards are lower than most other age groups, capping pension spending would risk undoing the achievements of the past 20 years which have allowed more pensioners to escape poverty. Pensioners seem to be an easy target for policymakers to try to raid. Business minister Matthew Hancock said: "I find it extraordinary Ed Balls can announce a policy and the U-turn on the key element of it in one day. Their policy must be a real mess behind the scenes.