Richard Fuller, the Conservative Party chairman, warned that the policy was just the start of Labour’s “war on pensioners”….reports Asian Lite News
More than 50 Labour MPs defied Sir Keir Starmer on Tuesday and refused to vote for his plan to strip pensioners of the winter fuel allowance. Although the vote passed by 348 votes to 228, 52 of the Prime Minister’s MPs abstained and one voted against the policy.
Richard Fuller, the Conservative Party chairman, warned that the policy was just the start of Labour’s “war on pensioners”. He said: “Labour just voted to cut winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners in order to pay for inflation-busting pay rises for their trade union paymasters.
“The country should not forget that Labour made a political choice to make this callous decision that will hurt pensioners just as their energy bills are set to increase this winter. Be of no doubt this is the start of Labour’s war on pensioners. People who have worked their whole lives and done the right thing deserve dignity and security in retirement instead of being hung out to dry by this Labour Government.”
One Labour MP, Jon Trickett, a former ally of Jeremy Corbyn, voted against the move.
It came as it was revealed that Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, who announced the policy in July, has claimed £4,400 of taxpayers’ money towards her energy bills. Labour rebels had been warned over the weekend that they could lose the whip if they voted against the policy.
Downing Street said that only a dozen had stayed away without gaining express permission from party chiefs, but it is understood that many who did not support the policy were encouraged to find urgent constituency business to attend to. Among those who supported the cuts in the voting lobbies, a number were said to be in tears.
Five MPs who were suspended from Labour in July for rebelling over the two-child benefit cap also voted to reverse the winter fuel payment cuts.
Apsana Begum, Ian Byrne, John McDonnell, Richard Burgon and Zarah Sultana all lost the whip for six months but may now do so permanently after once again opposing Sir Keir.
Rebecca Long-Bailey and Imran Hussain, who were also stripped of the whip in July, abstained on Tuesday.
Charities and campaigners expressed their disappointment after the vote, with Age UK describing Sir Keir and Ms Reeves’s means-testing plans as “brutal”. The charity warned that the move would make millions of poor pensioners even poorer ahead of a “deeply challenging” winter for retirees unable to top up their income.
During the debate, Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, called on the Government to “delay and rethink” the measure. She abstained from voting.
Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary, accused the Conservatives of “faux outrage” over the cuts, saying that the Government had no choice because the Tories had been “spending like there was no tomorrow”.
She said: “I would say to the faux outrage of members opposite, who left 880,000 pensioners, the very poorest, not getting the pension credit they’re entitled to.”
Kendall insisted that the policy was “not a decision we wanted or expected to make”, adding: “When we promised we would be responsible with taxpayers’ money, we meant it.”
Mel Stride, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said: “Can I make an impassioned plea to those sitting opposite? Look to your conscience. You know in your heart that these measures are wrong.
“You know in your heart that the party opposite has broken their promises and that these measures are going to lead to untold hardship for millions of elderly and vulnerable people right up and down this country.”
Conservative MPs Esther McVey and Robert Jenrick join supporters at a protest for the fuel allowance
Trickett, the only Labour MP to vote against, said that he would “sleep well tonight knowing that I voted to defend my constituents”. He said: “I fear that removing the payment from pensioners will mean that many more will fall into poverty this winter. We know that the consequences of pensioner poverty are devastating. It can even be a matter of life and death… I could not, in good conscience, vote to make my constituents poorer.”
Winter fuel payments had previously been universal, but this winter only retirees who already receive pension credit will be eligible for the benefit.
It is estimated that 1.5 million people will now receive the payment of up to £300, down from the current level of 11.4 million. The Government hopes this will save about £1.4 billion a year.
Starmer and Reeves have admitted that the move is “unpopular”, but claim it is necessary to fill what they say is a £22 billion “black hole” in the public finances.
Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, accused Labour of “picking the pocket of pensioners”, urging Sir Keir and Ms Reeves to reconsider.
Martin Lewis, the money-saving expert and the founder of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, warned that the cuts to winter fuel allowance were “unnecessarily punitive to the poorest pensioners”.
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