Starmer refuses to rule out axing single-person council tax discount
Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out scrapping the 25% single-person council tax discount, saying decisions on the public finances had to be looked at “in the round”.
The Prime Minister said he would not be drawn on the future of the tax break for people who live alone ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget on October 30.
Scrapping the discount could further hit some pensioners living alone who have already suffered the loss of winter fuel payments, but Sir Keir insisted he was not punishing elderly Britons.
The Local Government Association, which represents councils, has argued that cash-strapped authorities should be given the power to vary the single person discount, which is worth about £3 billion a year.
‘Punishment beating’
Sir Keir was challenged about the potential impact of scrapping the discount for elderly people who live alone and denied the assertion it was a “punishment beating” for pensioners.
“No, absolutely not,” he told reporters accompanying him on his trip to Washington.
“And let’s just try to quash this now. The Budget is on October 30. So, between now and then, you are all going to ask me questions, as you did before the election, ‘will you rule out X, Y, Z?’
“And knowing that I’m not going to say before the Budget what we’re going to do, you will then write a story saying, ‘refused to rule out X, Y, Z’.
“I’m not going to say before the Budget what we’re going to do.
“That does not mean that I’m ruling in anything that you might be putting to me, it simply means, like every Prime Minister, we’re not going to reveal what’s in the Budget before we get to it.”
But when it was put to him that Ms Reeves had ruled out other potential cash-saving options such as scrapping free bus passes, TV licences and prescriptions, he said: “We’ve got to look at everything in the round.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Keir and Rachel harvesting low hanging fruit to inflict most pain on people who are most vulnerable. They may catch the odd very well to do singleton but a lot will be older widowed or solo dwellers.
Any chance of you feeble cowards in government becoming a touch more ambitious and pursuing the rich pickings at the top of the tree ? Or are they all friends of yours and thus untouchable ?
Does Starmer have it in for pensioners? He will be soon one himself, so watch out Kier!
MPs have an unusually good pension. Former PMs also get a substantial expense account which theoretically is for public service stuff but actually is basically used to support their self-promotional activity. Not to mention a seat in the house of Lords if they want it, at some point anyway.
Starmer has had an Act of Parliament o protect his Pension (Crown Prosecution Service) in addition to being a millionaire and his Parliamentary Pension.
Must be difficult for the usual suspect press to not get the leaks like they did with the tory party and have to write stories like this. Did he rule out Soylent green as well? No? then starmer must be thinking of using pensioners for Soylent green.
Starmer seems to have his strategy to pit different sections of the 99% against each other.
Pensioners vs. working age people. as we see in the winter fuel payment cut.
Private renters vs. social renters as we see in his governments plan to use inflation-busting increases in social rents to fund the development of new affordable housing.
And now people living alone vs. families.
.. and in the meantime his rich elitist friends will be safe from any intrusive taxation initiatives.
Keith’s determined to kill off and/or bankrupt single pensioners who live alone.