Starmer defends 'unpopular' winter fuel payment cut amid pressure from unions and Labour rebels

Prime minister Keir Starmer has defended an “unpopular” decision to cut winter fuel payments for pensioners not on benefits, as up to 50 Labour MPs are said to be planning to rebel against the government in a vote. 

Starmer told the BBC that his new government is “going to have to be unpopular” as he defended the decision, with dozens of MPs reportedly considering abstaining from a vote following a House of Commons debate on Tuesday (10 September).

Speaking on Sunday (8 September) with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Starmer said the party can only deliver change in the future if it does “the difficult things now”, adding that the decision to remove winter fuel payments was part of “fixing the foundations” of the economy. 

“When we talk about tough decisions, I’m talking about… the things the last government ran away from,” he added.

He also argued that he could guarantee that the annual increase in the state pension, along with the triple-lock policy of pension increases, would “outstrip any reduction in the winter fuel payment”. 

The payments of between £200 and £300 a year were made to more than 10 million pensioners to help them pay their energy bills, however chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in July that they would be axed for all but the poorest. 

Reeves confirmed that the payment would now only be offered to pensioners in receipt of pension credit and other means-tested benefits, saying it was the “responsible thing to do to fix the foundations of our economy”. 

• Elderly people’s lives in danger without winter fuel payment, Labour warned: ‘This is a mistake’
• Dear pensioners worried about winter fuel payment cuts: You are not alone this winter

According to The Guardian, as many as 50 Labour MPs could refuse to back Starmer’s decision to cut the winter fuel allowance in Tuesday’s vote, with dozens believed to be considering abstaining or being absent. 

One Labour MP told the Guardian: “I’d expect the vast majority of anyone who does rebel to abstain, and remain inside the tent. Abstention is the new rebellion. It’s a question of defining what dissent is, and it’s probably better to do this than to jump off a cliff.”

Starmer has not confirmed whether Labour MPs who vote against the cuts will be suspended from the party, after seven Labour MPs had the whip suspended in July for voting to end the two-child benefit cap. 

The prime minister said it was “a matter for the chief whip”, however “every Labour MP was elected on the same mandate as I was, which was to deliver the change that we need for the country”. 

Labour MP John McDonnell, who had the whip withdrawn in July over child benefits, said on Sunday that he would rebel again unless ministers set out “a way of managing this that isn’t going to impact upon people in my constituency who are facing hardship”.

“If that doesn’t happen by Tuesday, I will vote against. I can’t do anything else,” he told LBC. 

Labour MP Rachael Maskell has also said she will abstain from the vote to signal her “complete dissent”.

Some MPs ‘not remotely happy’ about winter fuel payment cut

Health secretary Wes Streeting has also voiced his opposition to a cut to winter fuel payments, telling Sky News he is “not remotely happy about it”. 

“I’m not remotely happy about having to say to some of my constituents, I’m sorry that I’m going into work this week to vote for something that will take money away from you,” he said. 

He added, however, that he hoped the public would “take some reassurance that this isn’t a government that ducks difficult decisions or pretends you can spend money you don’t have”. 

Politicians and MPs from outside the Labour Party, as well as charities, unions and campaigners, have also voiced their opposition ahead of Tuesday’s vote. Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas slammed the decision as “hitting the poorest hardest”.

“When leaders like Starmer blather on about ‘tough choices’, why is it *always* code for hitting some of the poorest hardest?” Lucas said on X.  

“Where’s the ‘tough choice’ of a wealth tax on the super-rich? Why do shivering pensioners have to pay the price for ‘fixing the foundations’?”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham told Sky News the government is guilty of “picking the pockets of pensioners” by cutting the winter fuel payment.

“Britain is in crisis, and we need to make very, very different choices,” she said.

“We’re calling on Labour not to pick the pockets of pensioners, but to have a wealth tax on the biggest and richest 1% in society.”

Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, told the Big Issue that cuts to the winter fuel payment could lead to “compromising the health and safety of older people”. 

“Pensioners who will now miss out on winter fuel payments will cut back on energy use to make ends meet and this could mean they live in cold or damp homes,” Francis explained. “It is well established that living in these conditions increases the likelihood of people turning to the NHS and even dying.”

He added: “While we support what the Government is doing to bring down the cost of energy in the long term, through more renewables and a Warm Homes Plan, we can’t lose sight of the suffering happening right now.

“We will need to see support for households in fuel poverty and energy debt for the next few winters. That will include payments to those most at risk of living in cold, damp or mouldy conditions.

“Unless Sir Keir Starmer compromises on the Winter Fuel Payment axe, he will be compromising the health and safety of older people this winter.”

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