Exclusive:
Tory leadership frontrunner James Cleverly backed ‘focusing winter fuel payments to poorer pensioners’ in a tweet in 2017. He called it ‘the right answer, both fair and sustainable’
James Cleverly previously suggested rich pensioners should lose their winter fuel payments – but has since criticised the Government for the “toxic idea”.
The Tory leadership frontrunner backed “focusing winter fuel payments to poorer pensioners” in a tweet in 2017, calling it “the right answer, both fair and sustainable”.
He was responding to an election TV debate between former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May. The ex-PM was grilled at the time on her manifesto plan to means-test winter fuel payments – stripping it from millions of OAPs.
But last month, Mr Cleverly branded the new Labour government’s policy “arrogant”, a “toxic idea”, and “nothing short of a national embarrassment”.
A source in the Shadow Home Secretary’s camp told The Mirror: “Starmer has put his union paymasters before pensioners and misled the British people in the process. James was defending his team against a dangerous socialist. He has always been a team player, and now he is running to lead the team against a Starmer government that has its priorities backwards.”
His rival Kemi Badenoch also supported the targeting of winter fuel payments in 2022, saying, “I have people in my constituency telling me that they don’t need the winter fuel payments that we give them because they can afford it”.
Her spokesman later argued she was referring to millionaires and she still believes Labour’s approach is too tough. A source in a rival camp told the Telegraph Ms Badenoch’s hypocrisy was “terrible”. They added, “Labour’s decision to cut the winter fuel payment was our one effective attack on Labour. They’ll seize on these comments.”
It comes after the Money Saving Expert founder, Martin Lewis, confronted Lisa Nandy on the controversial decision to axe the £300 winter fuel payment for millions of pensioners.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in July only OAPs on pension credit and other benefits would be as she attempts to plug a £22billion black hole in the public finances. But around 780,000 people eligible for pension credit have still not applied – leading to fears many of the poorest will still miss out this winter.
In a heated exchange on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, Mr Lewis told the Culture Secretary: “Look, you have been a campaigner for the poorest in society for a very long time. So it seems rather odd you are sitting there defending a policy that [charities] are pulling their hair out about.” He then asked: “Why are you defending this?”
Ms Nandy said the government has begun a “huge drive” to get the poorest pensioners to sign up for pension credit – with a 115% spike in the number of people claiming.
But he said on the current trajectory it would take four years before all these people are signed up for the support and not missing out. “You believe they should get pension credit and winter fuel, but they’re not going to claim. They are the hardest to reach, you’re not writing individual letters to them,” he added.
Ms Nandy stressed the government is writing eligible pensioners letters, adding: “I know how strongly you feel about it, Martin. We do take very seriously what you say, what Age UK says, and we’re working with the widest range of people to make sure that we do reach those people. In fairness you’ve just said to me you’re not writing them bloody letters, well we are. I just wanted to explain that because I don’t want people to think for a moment we’re going to leave them high and dry.”
