Decision to cut winter fuel allowance ‘politically inept’, union chief says
A union leader has criticised the Government’s controversial cut to the winter fuel allowance as “politically inept”.
Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), said the policy would make people believe the new Government was “out of touch” with the public.
He told a fringe meeting at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool: “Ordinary voters are baffled by the decision. Within the first few weeks of the Government, there are some worrying trends.
“The treatment of the question of poverty has been appalling. The approach to the two-child benefit limit and the winter fuel allowance has been politically inept.”
Mr Wrack said Labour did not have to cut the winter fuel allowance, warning it would “haunt” the Government for years.
He said people would die over the winter and the Government would be blamed.
Membership
Mr Wrack said unions now faced a challenge to build up membership which had halved to six million since 1979.
A Labour government will bring opportunities to unions, especially with the planned New Deal which gives new rights to workers, he said.
Leeds East MP Richard Burgon, who lost the Labour whip over a Commons vote on the two-child benefit limit, told the fringe meeting there were other ways to raise money without cutting the winter fuel allowance.
Tens of billions of pounds could be raised by policies such as a wealth tax, he said.
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Will this be remembered like the Lib Dems student loan moment?
Hopefully.
I think it could become like that – it certainly doesn’t seem to be going away, and many pensioner forums are incandescent with rage over it. Personally I can’t believe the cack-handedness of the policy. I know the arguments about universal benefits, but I really don’t see what the fuss is about over wealthier recipients also receiving them. If the tax regime is efficient and robust enough, those earning more overall, benefits included, will end up paying more tax, which balances things out. The alternative is a means test,m which means bureaucracy, which means administration costs. Some years ago it… Read more »
Morally indefensible given it kicks in at 13k a year. Add to that lying about keeping the cap on care home fees, and abandoning steel making and it would appear that Starmer is even worse than the Tories. Austerity 2.0, I hope those rich people giving him lots of freebies are happy with their ‘donations’! We’ll find out in the budget. If he carries on like this the only hope is that Labour remove him.