On May 1st, Keir Starmer He could not be clearer about his stance on whether every pensioner should continue to receive their winter fuel payment from the government.
The then leader of the opposition made it clear to the House of Commons that the repeal of this law was a very bad thing.
He was so concerned about the possibility of the Conservatives doing this that he asked Rishi Altar also Prime Minister Questions That day: “Is the PM now going to refuse to cut pensioners’ winter fuel payments to fund his £46bn black hole?”
I wonder how Prime Minister Starmer now regrets this line of attack.
A few days after entering government two months ago, the chancellor Rachel Reeves The decision was made to introduce means testing for the benefit, which has been universal until now, meaning only those who receive pension credit will continue to receive it, leaving 10 million pensioners without the right to do so.
Reeves blamed the £22bn “black hole” in the national finances that Labour inherited from the Conservatives on the need to save as much as possible to balance the books.
But it has created a major political problem for the new government and could lead to Starmer facing his biggest backbench revolt yet.
Under increasing pressure from MPs, Commons Leader Lucy Powell announced that a parliamentary vote on the controversial cut would be held on Tuesday.
This is the same Lucy Powell who was sent on the airwaves last weekend to argue that if the Chancellor did not take the decision he did, there would be a run on the pound and the economy would collapse.
Some in government were shocked that Reeves had chosen to cut millions of pensioners – many on incomes as low as £11,500 a year – by up to £300, his first signature move in office.
“I expect a sane person to say, ‘OK, how do we get out of this hole that we’ve fallen into because of this policy?’ and for some reason we’re not making this a test of our political and economic credibility,” a senior source told HuffPost UK.
Another insider said: “It’s a problem that’s been waiting to be addressed but they need to resolve it now.”
So far, 10 Labour MPs have signed a Commons motion calling for the Exchequer to reconsider, but some senior figures in the party believe up to 20 MPs could join the revolt.
This would easily defeat the seven rebels who voted to remove the two-child benefit cap in defiance of the Prime Minister just two weeks after the general election, and were stripped of Labour’s mandate for their efforts.
HuffPost UK understands there are no current plans to impose the same sanctions on MPs who voted against the government on Tuesday.
Among those who signed the rebel motion tabled by Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan is former shadow cabinet member Rachael Maskell, who told HuffPost UK that she and her Labour colleagues were “deeply concerned” about the government’s approach.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of MPs who are really upset about these measures,” he said. “Some of them are literally They were left in tears at the prospect of their elderly constituents not receiving their winter fuel payments.
“I’ve read letters too and been moved to tears. I had a recently widowed constituent tell me they were just above the income threshold and no longer eligible for payments and were really scared for the winter. This is not about macroeconomics, it’s about real lives.”
The Treasury has launched a campaign calling on the 800,000 retirees who are entitled to receive retirement loans but have not applied to apply.
But even after filling out the lengthy application form, it took nine weeks for the request to be processed, Maskell said.
“They need enough money to pay the bills to keep older people warm and well and that must be the focus now,” he said. “We said we would protect the NHS so we don’t need any more older people in hospital beds this winter.
“Older people cannot retain heat and this puts them at greater risk of stroke, heart attack and hypothermia. This puts more demand on the NHS and this in turn [health secretary] West Street “The person who’s going to have to stand in front of the country and explain why – and I don’t want him to have to do that.”
The MP for York Central wants the chancellor to postpone his plan to cut the winter fuel payment until next year and use the time to set up a better system for delivering aid to those in need.
Caroline Abrahams, director of charity Age UK, said that when the payment was removed, “many older people were left very scared about how they would get through this winter”.
The charity estimates that around a million elderly people living on the poverty line, and not poor enough to qualify for pension credit, will “really struggle” this winter as a result of the finance minister’s decision.
Abrahams said: “The Government is not disputing that millions of low and middle income pensioners will lose their winter fuel payments under their schemes, and they have no credible answer when asked about the situation of those whose small occupational pensions take them above their pension credit limit.
“For these reasons they should stop this policy so it can be fully assessed as part of the government spending review in the spring.”
Downing Street sources told HuffPost UK that the government was not planning to back down or make any concessions to the rebels ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
They pointed to the £421m additional payment announced for the household support fund last week and the fact that the state pension will increase by £400 each year under the triple lock system of pension payments as evidence that the government is taking action to help those on the lowest incomes.
A cabinet minister defended the government’s stance, suggesting the chancellor had actually chosen the least bad option.
“We know this is difficult but we can also see how bad the public finances are,” experts told HuffPost UK.It was quite clear that if we had not taken immediate action on this issue, there would have been a major economic shock in the markets.
“The Treasury’s choice was to either keep the pension triple lock or make the winter fuel allowance means-tested. That makes it a pretty easy choice.
“Politics is tough, but we have to show voters that we are dealing with this terrible legacy and that this is the real challenge. There is no acceptable option here.
“We ask the public and pensioners to give us some time to sort out this mess.”
But it is clear that Tuesday’s vote will be deeply troubling for Starmer and Reeves.
With a grim Budget due at the end of October, the Prime Minister seems confident he will deliver on his promise that “things will get worse before they get better”.