In a blow to Keir Starmer, Labour members voted through a conference motion demanding a U-turn on the decision to axe the winter fuel allowance for all but the poorest pensioners
Keir Starmer has brushed off a Labour conference revolt over plans to cut the winter fuel payment.
In a blow to the PM, Labour members voted through a motion demanding he abandons the decision to axe the £300 payment for all but the poorest OAPs. While non-binding, it puts pressure on the Government amid growing calls to U-turn.
Mr Starmer, who missed the vote after leaving Labour’s conference early to attend the UN General Assembly in New York, rebuffed calls to change course. He told Channel 4: “I do understand how colleagues in the Labour movement feel about this.
“This is clearly a difficult decision, but a motion at conference doesn’t dictate government policy. It’s a difficult decision to take because the last government left a £22billion and we have had to take a tough decision.”
The PM said the Government had been forced to act to stabilise the economy – and insisted pensioners would be protected by the triple lock. He said: “I commit again through you, to the triple lock for pensioners, which means that in addition to the £900 extra this year, £460 extra next year.
“And it’s that triple lock which will ensure that under a Labor government, pensioners are better off.”
Mr Starmer said it was vital that pensioners claim pension credit if they are eligible. He said: “If they do claim it, they then, of course, get their winter fuel payment recovered, but they also get the additional top up with the pension credit.”
The motion was put forward by Unite – one of Labour’s most powerful union backers – and the Communication Workers Union.
Receiving a standing ovation from Labour delegates, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham told the conference: “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.”
Alan Tate, of the Communication Workers Union, said the winter fuel payment cut had “overshadowed” the work of the new Labour Government. He said: “The CWU has been inundated with emails and calls from our retired members worried about choosing between heating and eating.”
Labour MP Jon Trickett, who rebelled against the government over the cut earlier this month, responded to the vote: “Unions and party delegates were not persuaded to vote for cuts to winter fuel allowance. The conference spoke for poorer pensioners #proud.”
It came as Unite members – including general secretary Ms Graham – staged a protest outside the conference hall on Wednesday, shouting “save the winter fuel”. But following the thorny vote on the final day of the party’s conference in Liverpool, Labour made clear there would be no U-turn.
A party spokesman said: “The Tories wrecked our economy and left a £22 billion black hole in the public finances. They made commitments they couldn’t pay for, covered it up and ran away.
“The Labour Party was elected on our manifesto commitment to sound fiscal rules, economic growth is our primary mission and we will take the tough decisions now to rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.”
And in her conference speech on Wednesday, the Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall also described the decision to cut the support as “difficult”.
She added: “Focusing Winter Fuel Payments on the poorest pensioners wasn’t a decision we wanted or expected to make. But when we promised we could be trusted with taxpayers’ money, we meant it.”
