Labour members at the party’s conference have voted in favour of a motion calling for ministers to reverse their cut to the winter fuel allowance, in an embarrassing blow to Sir Keir Starmer.
While there is nothing binding about the vote, it puts further pressure on the Labour leadership over its controversial decision to take away the benefit from millions of pensioners.
The motion was put forward by the trade union Unite, which has accused the government of embarking on “austerity mark two”.
Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite and outspoken critic of Sir Keir, moved the proposal by quoting Labour’s election winning post-war manifesto, which she said was “one of hope”.
She said: “The nation wants food, work and homes… It wants a high and rising standard of living, security for all, against a rainy day…”
“Friends, that’s a quote from the 1945 Labour Manifesto, written in the shadow of death, destruction and debt, caused by years of war. A manifesto of hope.”
Ms Graham said debt then was “nearly three times higher than it is now” but there was “no mention of cuts, no mention of austerity and certainly no mention of making everyday people pay”.
She added: "I do not understand how our new Labour government can cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners and leave the super-rich untouched.
“This is not what people voted for. It is the wrong decision and needs to be reversed.”
Setting the bar at pension credit recipients is too low, I would have much rather they brought forward the expected £400 uplift to the state pension, and removed the winter fuel payment at the same time. That way everyone who needs it would still get it, and those with private pensions / other sources of income would pay more income tax.
The moral argument for why poor pensioners need the payment is valid, but keep in mind that less pensioners live in poverty than working people - which is wild when you consider the demographic bulge the boomers represent. Neither children nor pensioners should freeze over winter in one of the largest economies in the world, with relatively moderate winters.
Lastly, about 25% of pensioners live in households with over £1m in assets. Granted, most of that wealth is tied up in the house, but if you own a £1m house that you can’t afford to heat, bluntly, fucking move.
+1 neither children nor pensioners should freeze.