Starmer defended the decision to cut the winter fuel payments in his speech to the Labour conference on Tuesday (24 September), saying: “If this path were popular or easy we would have walked it already.
“But the risk of showing to the world – as the Tories did – that this country does not fund its policies properly, that is a risk we can never take again.”
The plans to restrict the winter fuel payment to the poorest pensioners – those in receipt of pension credit and other means-tested benefits – was announced by chancellor Rachel Reeves in July.
She revealed that the Conservatives had left behind a £22bn “black hole” in public finances, and the move will save the government around £1.5bn.
But it has been controversial as 10 million pensioners are set to lose the winter fuel payment, including an estimated 880,000 pensioners who should be eligible for pension credit but are yet to claim it.
Simon Francis, End Fuel Poverty Coalition coordinator, said: “Labour conference has understood what ministers have failed to acknowledge, that removing the winter fuel payment at short notice and from so many people is wrong.
“If the government persists with the cuts, it will be gambling with pensioners’ ability to keep warm this winter and with that, their health and wellbeing.
“The government’s plans for better energy security and warmer homes will help bring down bills in the long term and we have welcomed ministers’ announcements on these issues this week. But many vulnerable groups need help now.”
Around 1.2 million pensioners in absolute poverty and 1.6 million disabled pensioners will no longer get winter fuel payments under the new rules.
“They are the people we are most worried about,” Francis added. “After this winter, there is no guarantee that these pensioners will be in good enough health to enjoy the prosperity of the years ahead which the prime minister wants us to believe in.”
MPs recently voted to cut the winter fuel payment after a Conservative motion to block it failed to pass in the House of Commons. A total of 348 MPs backed the government’s plan to scrap the payment on 10 September, while 228 supported the opposition motion.
Alan Tate, of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), said the winter fuel payment cut had “overshadowed” the work of the new Labour Government. He added: “The CWU has been inundated with emails and calls from our retired members worried about choosing between heating and eating.”
The winter fuel payment is worth up to £300 and is intended to help elderly people cover the costs of heating over the coldest months. It comes as annual household energy bills are set to rise to an average of £1,717 from October, an increase of around £150.
Jonathan Bean, spokesperson for Fuel Poverty Action, said: “Labour members voting for a U-turn on winter fuel payments in the first conference since the election shows just how badly wrong the leadership have got this one.
“It’s time for Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer to listen. Listen to Labour members and councillors at conference. Listen to their constituents. Listen to the pensioners who simply can’t afford to lose a vital lifeline this winter.”
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