Starmer defends cutting winter fuel payments

Sir Keir Starmer has defended scrapping winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners, saying his government had to take "tough decisions to stabilise the economy".

During Prime Minister's Questions, Conservative leader Rishi Sunak accused Sir Keir of choosing to fund "inflation-busting pay rises" for train drivers over support for vulnerable pensioners.

But the PM blamed the Tories for leaving a "£22bn black hole" in the public finances.

From this autumn, older people in England and Wales not on pension credit or other means-tested benefits will no longer get annual winter fuel payments, worth between £100 and £300.

The government is facing growing pressure from opposition parties to reverse the decision, with some Labour MPs also raising concerns about the impact on low-income pensioners.

Last month the government offered train drivers a pay rise aimed at ending long-running strike action.

Mr Sunak told the House of Commons: "Government is about making choices, and the new prime minister has made a choice.

"[Sir Keir] has chosen to take the winter fuel allowance away from low-income pensioners and give that money to certain unionised workforces in inflation-busting pay rises.

"So can I just ask the prime minister, why did he choose train drivers over Britain's vulnerable pensioners?"

In response, Sir Keir said: "This government was elected to clear up the mess left by the party opposite, to bring about the change that the country desperately needs. Our first job was to audit the books, and what we found was a £22bn black hole."

He added: "So we've had to take tough decisions to stabilise the economy and repair the damage, including targeting winter fuel payments whilst protecting pensioners."

Hitting back, Mr Sunak said the new government had inherited a growing economy, with inflation back at the target rate.

He called on the PM to "start taking responsibility for his own decision".

"It was his decision and his decision alone, to award a train driver on £65,000 a pay rise of almost £10,000, and it was also his decision that a pensioner living on just £13,000 will have their winter fuel allowance removed," he added.

Defending the government's pay offers to end strike action, Sir Keir said: "You cannot fix the economy if the trains don't work and you can't fix the economy if the NHS isn't working."

Sir Keir was also challenged over the decision by Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who urged the PM to reverse the planned cut.

He raised the example of a carer called Norman, who had returned to work so he could afford to pay for the care of his wife, who has Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis.

Sir Ed said this meant Norman was now just above the limit to be eligible for pension credit so was set to lose his winter fuel allowance.

Sir Keir said he was "not pretending it's not a difficult decision" but insisted the government was providing all the support it could for pensioners.

The PM highlighted the government's campaign to encourage more people to claim pension credit, so those eligible also qualify for winter fuel payments.

Meanwhile, he said the government's commitment to the triple lock - which ensures the state pension increases each year by the highest figure of 2.5%, inflation or average earnings - meant pensions were expected to rise by up to £1,000 over the next five years.

Given Labour's huge majority in the Commons, the government is likely to win any vote on the issue comfortably.

However, a handful of Labour MPs have publicly raised concerns about the impact on pensioners just above the threshold for claiming pension credit.

Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, told BBC Newsnight she could not vote in support of the move, arguing it would put some pensioners at risk of harm.

She called on the government to put in place mitigations to protect the most vulnerable and ensure they can keep warm over the winter.

Ms Maskell is among eight Labour MPs backing a motion calling for the cut to be postponed to establish "a comprehensive strategy to tackle fuel poverty, health inequality and low incomes among older people".

Five independent MPs, who were suspended from the parliamentary Labour Party in July after voting against the government to call for the two-child benefit cap to be scrapped, have also signed the motion.

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