MPs to vote on cutting winter fuel payment for pensioners as Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds says government has ‘no choice’

Published

1 year ago

September 10, 2024

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The government has “no choice” but to cut winter fuel payments for the majority of pensioners, a minister has said ahead of MPs voting on the controversial plan.

The move – which will see around 10 million people lose the payment of up to £300 to help with energy costs – has been defended by Labour, who said “tough decisions” need to be made in light of the £22bn “black hole” in public finances.

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds told Sky News: “We have no choice… We’re fixing the foundations [of the economy], and that’s a difficult message today.

“But it’s not just to correct the problem, it’s to make sure your house is better in future and the better future we want, more prosperity for everyone, comes through stability and responsibility.”

However, some MPs from Labour’s own side, as well as charities and opposition MPs, are calling for a U-turn, saying the policy will leave less well-off pensioners with “a heart-breaking choice between heating and eating this winter”.

Ahead of the vote, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will deliver a speech to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) conference in Brighton, where many in the audience will be in vocal opposition to the policy.

He will attack the previous Conservative government for having “salted the earth of Britain’s future to serve themselves”, but appeal for partnership with the unions to fix it, telling them: “The crisis we have inherited means we must go deep into the marrow of our institutions, rewrite the rules of our economy and fix the foundations so we can build a new home.”

Sir Keir will add: “Economic rules written in the ink of partnership will be more durable and long-lasting – whoever is in power. So it is time to turn the page, business and unions, the private and public sector, united by a common cause to rebuild our public services and grow our economy in a new way.

“We will keep to the course of change, reject the snake oil of easy answers, fix the foundations of our economy and build a new Britain. More secure, more prosperous, more dynamic, and fairer. A country renewed and returned, calmly but with confidence, to the service of working people.”

The winter fuel payment was introduced in 1997 by then Labour chancellor Gordon Brown as a universal benefit, with all people above state pension age entitled to it.

However, the current Labour chancellor, Rachel Reeves, now wants the payment to be limited to those entitled to Pension Credit – around 1.5 million people – to save public money.

Making the announcement in July shortly after her party won the general election, Ms Reeves laid the blame at the door of the previous Conservative government, claiming they had made “commitment after commitment without knowing where the money was going to come from”.

While she said the decision to scrap the benefit was “difficult”, it was “necessary and urgent” to fix the money problems that had been left behind.

The prime minister has continued to stand by the move, insisting additional “safeguards” are in place for pensioners already on benefits.

He added: “I am determined that we will take tough decisions because the change which is improved living standards, people feeling better off, better public services, dealing with crime and immigration and issues like that, that change will only happen if we fix the foundations now.”

Further potentially unpopular measures, including possible tax rises, are expected next month when Ms Reeves delivers her first Budget.

But Sky News understands as many as 30 MPs are unhappy with the winter fuel payment cut, though they are likely to abstain on the vote rather than go against the party – especially in light of Labour suspending seven of its MPs in July for six months after they rebelled over keeping the two-child benefit cap.

The general secretary of one of Labour’s major union backers, Unite, also accused the party of “picking the pockets of pensioners”.

Speaking to Sky News from the TUC conference, Sharon Graham said the country was “in crisis” and the new government needed to “make very, very different choices” – including introducing a wealth tax “on the biggest and richest 1% in society”.

The Conservatives are among the opposition parties putting forward their own motions to try and stop the cut – though with Labour’s large majority, the government is likely to win the vote.

Former prime minister and Tory leader Rishi Sunak reiterated his accusation that Sir Keir was choosing to “cut vital support for pensioners to fund an inflation-busting pay rise for train drivers”, calling it “unnecessary and wrong”.

He added: “The last Conservative government always made sure to protect our vulnerable pensioners, because we believe that those who have worked hard all their lives deserve security and peace of mind in retirement.

“But within weeks of coming into power Labour are cutting the winter fuel payments, with potentially devastating consequences.

“Labour MPs know this is indefensible – they must do the right thing and force the government to come clean about the impact this punishing cut will have.”

Also speaking ahead of the vote, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the government “should do the right thing and change course” as cutting the winter fuel payment would “put untold stress on pensioners, with many facing a heart-breaking choice between heating and eating this winter”.

Confirming his party would vote against the cut, he added: “While we understand the dire state the Conservatives left the public finances in, now is not the time to be cutting support to some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

“We cannot stand by and allow millions of pensioners to endure another winter in a cost of living crisis.”

The SNP’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, also urged Scottish MPs on the Labour benches to follow his party’s lead and vote down the change in policy, saying: “The last UK government hammered the economy, public services and household incomes by imposing 14 years of cuts and Brexit.

“The last thing the UK needs now is more cuts from the Labour Party – and pensioners will face a bitter winter if these cuts go ahead.”

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House Republicans to probe Gary Gensler’s deleted texts

Published

7 hours ago

October 1, 2025

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SEC staff open to advisers using trust companies as crypto custodians

Published

8 hours ago

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Politics

Sir Keir Starmer says he will take ‘no more lectures’ from Nigel Farage – and warns of ‘fight for the soul of our country’

Published

11 hours ago

October 1, 2025

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Sir Keir Starmer says he will take 'no more lectures' from Nigel Farage - and warns of 'fight for the soul of our country'

Sir Keir Starmer has said he will take “no more lectures” from Nigel Farage, as he warned that the next four years will be “a fight for the soul of our country” against Reform UK.

In a speech setting out his vision of “national renewal” for Britain, the prime minister hit out at “snake oil merchants on the right, on the left”, and questioned whether Mr Farage and his party “genuinely love our country”.

Sir Keir also asked for “patience” as he implements the “change” he has promised, which comes after a challenging first 14 months in power, with Reform UK continuing to top the opinion polls, and dissent within his own party in the form of a series of interviews by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham criticising the direction of the government.

In an hour-long speech at the Labour Party conference, the prime minister declared that the UK is at “a fork in the road”, saying: “We can choose decency, or we can choose division; renewal or decline; a country proud of its values, in control of its future, or one that succumbs against the grain of our history to the politics of grievance. It is a test, a fight for the soul of our country.”

Sir Keir argued the “path of renewal” he wants to set the country on is “long”, and “requires decisions that are not cost-free or easy, decisions that will not always be comfortable for our party”. But the reward, he said, is “a new country, a fairer country, a land of dignity and respect”.

Analysis: Speech a success for PM – but biggest issue in UK politics ignored

He hit out at politicians who “tell you there’s a quick fix, a miracle cure, tax cuts that magically pay for themselves, a wealth tax that somehow solves every problem”.

“We can all see these snake oil merchants on the right, on the left, but be in no doubt, none of them have any interest in national renewal because decline is good for their business,” the prime minister said.

Starmer calls on party to ‘fight Reform’

In a lengthy attack directly on Reform UK, Sir Keir said: “Think about it, when was the last time that you heard Nigel Farage say anything positive about Britain’s future? He can’t. He doesn’t like Britain, doesn’t believe in Britain, wants you to doubt it just as much as he does. So he resorts to grievance.”

He continued: “The question I ask seriously of Nigel Farage and Reform is, do they love our country? Do they want to serve our country? All of it – our beautiful, tolerant, diverse country, every region, nation and city? Or do they just want to stir the pot of division?”

He issued a rallying cry to the Labour Party to “fight Reform with everything that this movement has”.

He went on: “If you are a patriot, whether you vote Labour or not, if you want to stand against grievance and renew Britain, then this is your fight too. Because even in a world this dangerous, I do think the politics of grievance is the biggest threat we face because it attacks who we are.”

The prime minister added that he will “fight with every breath I have, fight for working people, fight for the tolerant, decent, respectful Britain that I know”.

Starmer is ‘unfit to be PM’

In response, Mr Farage said in a video message online: “I used to think the prime minister was a decent man, somebody that I could talk to and chat to. We might disagree on worldview, but I thought he was a profoundly decent human being.

“I am completely shocked at his behaviour. I hope when he wakes up tomorrow morning, he feels ashamed of what he has done.

“This is a desperate last throw of the dice for the prime minister, who’s in deep trouble. A prime minister who can’t even command the support of half of his own party. But I’m sorry to say, I now believe he is unfit to be the prime minister of our country.”

The Conservative Party barely got a mention in the hour-long speech, underscoring where Sir Keir believes the battle lines will be drawn at the next general election, expected in 2029.

But speaking to broadcasters afterwards, party leader Kemi Badenoch said: “I just thought it was really extraordinary that Keir Starmer could not explain how he was going to improve the economy.”

She described the fight between Sir Keir and Mr Farage as “two boys squabbling in the playground”, and said she wants to focus on how “the people in government can make life better”.

PM sets out the ‘purpose’ of his government

As he declared Reform UK “the enemy of national renewal”, Sir Keir set out his vision of the future of the country, saying: “At the end of this hard road, there will be a new country, a fairer country, a land of dignity and respect. Everyone seen. Everyone valued.

“Wealth creation in every single community. Working people in control of their public services. The mindless bureaucracy that chokes enterprise removed, so we can build and keep building. Clean British energy powering our homes. Technology harnessed to drive us forward. Our flags flying proudly as we celebrate difference and oppose racism.”

He acknowledged that the public is “losing faith”, and people are feeling “ground down”, saying: “Politics has made them question Britain. And could you blame them? They’ve been nothing but patient.”

The prime minister said Britain is not “broken” – something he has previously argued himself – but said that his solution to the problems Britain faces is an economy working “from the grassroots”, secure borders and controlled migration, and public and private investment in everything from education to infrastructure.

“Every decision” the government has made in the past 14 months has been about “changing the way we create wealth, reforming public services, giving people more control over our future”, he argued.

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The prime minister announced “NHS Online”, which will allow patients to access prescriptions, book scans and tests, receive clinical advice, and manage appointments through the NHS app.

And he also announced he is scrapping the Blair-era target of 50% of all young people going to university, in favour of two-thirds going to either universities or “gold-standard apprenticeships”.

Concluding his speech, the prime minister said: “People say that a nation like ours can’t be a community – that it is too diverse, too divided. I reject that. That goes against everything I stand for, everything I’ve served, everything I understand about this great country that I love.

“So no matter how many times people tell me it can’t be done, I believe Britain can come together, that we can pursue a shared destination, that we can unite around the common good. That is my ambition.

“The purpose of this government – end decline, reform our public services, grow our economy from the grassroots and with resolve, with respect, with a flag in our hands, we will renew this country until we can say with total conviction that Britain is built for all.”