Labour has no choice but to cut winter fuel payment, minister insists

Labour has “no choice” but to cut the winter fuel payment, a Cabinet minister insisted as he appealed to dissenting backbenchers to back the Government in a Commons vote on the policy.

Jonathan Reynolds urged MPs to “be the team that fixes this country” and not “rely on your colleagues to make the difficult decisions” as Sir Keir Starmer’s administration braces for internal unrest over the plans.

Speaking to broadcasters on Tuesday, the Business Secretary rejected suggestions that the Government’s decision to strip all but the country’s poorest pensioners of the allowance could see some die of cold this winter.

Asked whether ministers accepted this was a possibility, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “No. We are making sure that we can reassure people by saying the state pension is higher than last winter and energy bills are lower than last winter.”

Pressed on why the Government was pursuing the policy, he told Sky News: “We have no choice.”

Critics

Critics, including from within party ranks, have questioned why Labour is not targeting the wealthy instead of pensioners as it insists the cut is necessary to fill what it describes as a “£22 billion black hole” in the public finances.

“We have a Budget coming up but we’ve made clear that taxes which we’ve inherited are already high on working people,” Mr Reynolds insisted on Tuesday.

Number 10 is holding firm against pressure to soften the policy, with a spokeswoman saying on Monday that there were no discussions of introducing mitigations to ease its impact.

The Prime Minister will face down critics of the policy during an appearance at the TUC Congress on Tuesday after unions voiced fierce opposition to the plans in their current form.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham accused Labour of “picking the pocket of pensioners”, calling instead for a wealth tax to raise funds, while RMT boss Mick Lynch likened the Government to the Grinch over the plans.

Unease

Chancellor Rachel Reeves sought to quell backbench unease at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party in Westminster on Monday evening, where she told MPs she was “not immune” to concerns about the cut.

A spokesperson for the Chancellor said that MPs showed “strong support” at the closed-doors gathering.

Under the plans, the winter fuel allowance for pensioners will be limited to only those claiming pension credit or other means-tested benefits.

It is expected to cut the number of people receiving the payment of up to £300 by 10 million, from 11.4 million to 1.5 million, which the Government hopes will save about £1.4 billion this year.

The Tories accused Labour of having failed to “properly examine” the implications of the policy.

“This has been completely rushed. There’s no need to do this as quickly as the Government has done, other than for purely political reasons,” shadow work and pensions secretary and Conservative leadership candidate Mel Stride told Times Radio.

“And it means that the implications of this, of course, have not been properly examined in the normal way that they would be, and which is why even trade unions such as Unite has described this as picking the pockets of pensioners.”