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topicnews · September 10, 2024

‘Pensioners will die’, rebel MP warns Starmer

‘Pensioners will die’, rebel MP warns Starmer

An MP has warned that pensioners will die as a result of government plans to dramatically scale back the winter fuel allowance.

Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves want to means-test the payment, meaning around 10 million pensioners will lose out on up to £300 this winter.

Richard Burgon, who was suspended by the party in July after rebelling on the two-child benefit cap, told LBC on Monday night: “If this goes through without movement from the government, I’m afraid that constituents in my constituency and others will die as a result.”

Business minister Jonathan Reynolds would not guarantee that no pensioners would die of cold in a separate interview on Tuesday morning.

Read more: What is the winter fuel payment and who is still able to claim it?

The warning comes ahead of a vote in the House of Commons today on the plan, which the government is highly likely to win comfortably, but could see dozens of its own MPs refuse to support the policy and abstain.

Starmer has defended the move as one of the necessary “tough decisions” his government has had to makes. Reeves has insisted pensioners will be £1,700 better off by 2029 under expected increases to the full state pension. It was confirmed on Tuesday next year’s rise will be £460 a year.

Follow all the latest from Yahoo News on the winter fuel payments vote:

Live21 updates

  • Labour ‘did not expect a fuss on this scale’

    Labour ‘did not expect a fuss on this scale’ over winter fuel payments, says Sky’s Sam Coates.

  • How wealthy are the UK’s pensioners?

    A campaign to increase the number of people claiming pension credit is being launched by the government after announcing that winter fuel payments will be restricted to those “most in need”.

    About 10 million pensioners are expected to lose out on winter fuel payments as a result of the policy, which is part of the government’s plan to tackle a £22bn “black hole” in public finances.

    Read the full story from Yahoo News.

  • Not fair to call Reeves the Grinch, Cabinet minister says

    It is not “fair” to suggest Chancellor Rachel Reeves is behaving like the “Grinch” over the cut to the winter fuel allowance, a Cabinet minister said.

    Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds was asked about remarks made by RMT general secretary Mick Lynch at the TUC Congress, where he said that Labour would be likened to the Grinch – a term used against him during a strike by railway workers last year – over the policy.

    “I don’t think that that is fair in any way,” he told LBC.

    “What we have been able to do is first of all be serious about decisions that the previous government has sat on… it’s nothing like the kind of austerity that we saw under George Osborne.

    “It is a recognition that where the previous government has made commitments that it can’t honour, you’ve got to be responsible within there.”

  • Why pensioners are doomed to be poorer under Labour

    Young woman holding elderly hands

    Will pensioners be worse off under Labour? (Getty)

    Millions of retirees will be handed a £460 pay rise in April, thanks to the state pension “triple lock”.

    Labour will be keen to frame the boost as a big win for pensioners, one that will more than make up for its decision to deny millions of elderly people their winter fuel payments, worth up to £300 a year.

    However, scrapping the benefit could be the tip of the iceberg as the screws tighten on retirees over the course of the next Parliament.

    Read the full story from The Telegraph.

  • Full list of energy bill support available ahead of October price rise

    Ofgem has confirmed that annual household energy bills are set to soar by £149 on average in the coming months. From October 1, the energy price cap will jump from £1,568 to £1,717.

    It’s important to note that the price cap doesn’t put a ceiling on the total bill households pay. Instead, it sets the rate for each unit of gas and electricity consumed.

    Read the full story from Manchester Evening News.

  • Labour ‘picking pensioners’ pockets’, says union chief ahead of winter fuel vote

    Labour has decided to “pick the pocket of pensioners” while leaving the richest “totally untouched”, the head of the UK’s largest trade union has said as pressure mounts for the Government to U-turn on means testing winter fuel payments.

    LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 28: Sharon Graham General Secretary of the UNITE trade union addresses her members from the steel industry in Parliament square on June 28, 2023 in London, England. Steelworkers and union officials marched down Whitehall and outside the Houses of Parliament to demand more support for the British steel industry. (Photo by Guy Smallman/Getty Images)LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 28: Sharon Graham General Secretary of the UNITE trade union addresses her members from the steel industry in Parliament square on June 28, 2023 in London, England. Steelworkers and union officials marched down Whitehall and outside the Houses of Parliament to demand more support for the British steel industry. (Photo by Guy Smallman/Getty Images)

    Sharon Graham, general secretary of the UNITE trade union, has encouraged the prime minister to U-turn on the policy. (Getty Images)

    Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, urged Sir Keir Starmer to “do a U-turn” on the policy, which would see winter fuel payments restricted to only the poorest pensioners.

    Read the full story from PA.

  • State pensioners left £5,000 short of minimum living standard

    State pension payments will leave retirees over £5,000 short of meeting their basic needs – even after an expected pay rise in April, analysis shows.

    A single pensioner living alone would need an income of £17,200 a year to achieve a “minimum” standard of living, according to a study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation think tank.

    The “full” state pension is currently £11,502 a year for anyone who retired after 2016. The “triple lock” ensures that payments rise each year by the highest of inflation, wage growth or 2.5pc.

    Read the full story from The Telegraph.

  • Martin Lewis warns state pensioners will be £500 worse off

    Martin Lewis hosted Good Morning Britain. (ITV screengrab)Martin Lewis hosted Good Morning Britain. (ITV screengrab)

    Martin Lewis. (ITV screengrab)

    Martin Lewis has issued a warning over the reported Triple Lock hike. The BBC and ITV star spoke out as the latest UK labour market statistics, just released, show that total pay – including bonuses – rose by 4% between May and July.

    The triple lock was first introduced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition Government in 2010.

    Referencing the £460 uplift, Mr Lewis said: “That starts next April. This winter most pensioners are facing (looking at energy bills alone) a typical £500 higher cost compared to last (energy bills are £100ish cheaper, but no £300 cost of living payment, no £300 winter fuel payment).”

    Read the full story from the Manchester Evening News.

  • How Winter Fuel Payments are changing – and what other support is available to pensioners?

    File photo dated 22/12/16 of an elderly woman holding pound coins in her hands, in Poole, Dorset. More than 850,000 pensioners will lose out as a result of the change in eligibility for the winter fuel payment, the SNP has said as it called on the Prime Minister to U-turn on the File photo dated 22/12/16 of an elderly woman holding pound coins in her hands, in Poole, Dorset. More than 850,000 pensioners will lose out as a result of the change in eligibility for the winter fuel payment, the SNP has said as it called on the Prime Minister to U-turn on the

    The government has been urged top U-turn on its position on winter fuel payments. (Alamy)

    Winter Fuel Payments will be stopped for millions of pensioners this winter as Labour pushes on with its plan to boost public finances by means-testing the cold weather benefit.

    The Labour government has been urged to review its decision affecting 10 million pensioners after the regulator Ofgem announced household energy bills will rise by £150 in October.

    Read the full story from The Independent.

  • How wealthy are the UK’s pensioners?

    As the government plans to scrap winter fuel allowance to the outrage of campaigners, Yahoo News looks at how UK pensioners’ wealth has changed over the years.

    While pensioners, on the whole, are generally better off than their predecessors, recent figures show pensioner poverty rates have been on the rise for the past decade, with a growing number relying on food banks for support.

    Read the full story from Yahoo News.

  • MP says he has been emailed by hundreds of ‘scared constituents’

    An independent MP has said he has been emailed by hundreds of “scared constituents” about winter fuel payments.

    Ian Byrne said the changes will “harm so many pensioners just above the pension credit threshold”.

    Byrne posted a copy of a letter he has written to the Chancellor on X, including samples of hundreds of emails he had received about the issue.

  • ‘Pensioners will die’, rebel MP warns Starmer

    A rebel Labour MP has warned that pensioners will die if the government goes ahead with its plan to means test the winter fuel payment.

    Leeds East MP Richard Burgon, who was one of seven Labour MPs who had the whip suspended in July after voting against the government on the two-child benefit cap, appeared on LBC on Monday night.

    He told presenter Andrew Marr: “If this goes through without movement from the government, I’m afraid that constituents in my constituency, and others will die as a result.”

    Watch the video below

  • David Cameron brands winter fuel cut ‘misguided’

    David Cameron has criticised the Government’s “misguided attack” on winter fuel payments and argued it should rethink to save “the shame and embarrassment”.

    The Conservative peer, one of the architects of austerity in the 2010s alongside George Osborne, suggested the eligibility criteria for receiving the allowance should be raised using the tax system to exclude more wealthy pensioners.

    Watch the video below.

  • Why is Labour’s proposed winter fuel payments cut controversial?

    The decision to axe winter fuel payments for all but the poorest pensioners has become the Labour government’s first political crisis. So what is it about?

    What is the benefit, and how is it changing?

    Introduced in 1997 by the then-chancellor, Gordon Brown, the winter fuel payment was intended to help older people with their heating costs during the colder months. Paid annually in autumn, it is £200 or £300, depending on age, and had always been universal – paid to everyone, irrespective of income or wealth.

    Read the full story from The Guardian.

  • State pension to rise by £460

    The full state pension is set to rise by £460 from next April, according to official wage figures released on Tuesday.

    While this is the lowest increase for nearly four years, it will mean pensioners can expect to see their full, flat-rate state pension go up to £11,962.60 a year from next April – a rise of £460.

    However, one expert cautioned the rise will only partially offset the pain for the millions of pensioners who are being stripped of their winter fuel allowance.

    Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “There’s every chance it’s not enough to placate those pensioners still reeling from the loss of the winter fuel payments, especially given how close this is edging to busting the personal allowance.”

    Read the full story from PA

  • Suspended Labour MP to vote against ‘Labour austerity’

    Former Labour MP Zarah Sultana has said she will vote against the government in today’s winter fuel payment vote in the House of Commons.

    Sultana was one of seven Labour MPs to receive a six-month suspension in July after voting in favour of scrapping the two-child benefit cap.

    On Monday night, she said “deserve better than Tory austerity versus Labour austerity”.

  • Diane Abbott among London MPs in growing revolt

    London MPs including Diane Abbott have joined Commons moves challenging axing winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners.

    Ms Abbott, Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, and Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Labour MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, have signed an Early Day Motion highlighting concerns over Sir Keir Starmer’s plans to restrict the special fuel payment for pensioners to just those receiving pension credit.

    The EDM is also backed by John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington, and Apsana Begum, MP for Poplar and Limehouse.

    Read the full story from the Evening Standard.

  • Starmer to warn unions against bumper pay deals

    Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, listens as Idris Elba, left, speaks during the knife crime summit hosted by Starmer at 10 Downing Street, in London, Monday Sept. 9, 2024. (Ian Vogler/Pool Photo via AP)Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, listens as Idris Elba, left, speaks during the knife crime summit hosted by Starmer at 10 Downing Street, in London, Monday Sept. 9, 2024. (Ian Vogler/Pool Photo via AP)

    Keir Starmer.

  • Cabinet not split over winter fuel payments, Downing Street insists

    Sir Keir Starmer’s Cabinet has agreed to his plan to cut winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners ahead of a crunch vote in the House of Commons.

    LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - JULY 6: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer chairs the first meeting of his cabinet in 10 Downing Street on July 6, 2024 in London, England. The Labour Party won a landslide victory in the 2024 general election, ending 14 years of Conservative government. (Photo by Chris Eades-WPA Pool/Getty Images)LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - JULY 6: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer chairs the first meeting of his cabinet in 10 Downing Street on July 6, 2024 in London, England. The Labour Party won a landslide victory in the 2024 general election, ending 14 years of Conservative government. (Photo by Chris Eades-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

    Keir Starmer’s cabinet (pictured at their first cabinet meeting) backs the plans, the prime minister’s spokesperson said. (Getty Images)

    Senior ministers discussed the policy at a meeting of the Cabinet in No 10 on Monday morning. Asked if any ministers had spoken against the move, the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said: “Cabinet were in agreement on the importance of fixing the economy and that being the foundation of everything that we do.”

    Read the full story from The Telegraph.

  • TV Dragon says she shouldn’t get payments

    Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden has said wealthier people like her should not receive the universal payment, saying it should be means-tested.

    In a post on X, it was not clear if she supported the extent of the nuber of pensioners – around 1.5 million – who will still be eligible under the new approach.

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