During the election, Labour sources said the winter fuel payment would continue under a Starmer government and that there were no plans to change eligibility for these benefits. Today they have revealed they misled the public.
Rachel Reeves’ announcement that she is scrapping the universal Winter Fuel Payment is a callous decision by the new Chancellor, which will have a devastating impact here in East Surrey and across the country. Any pensioners who are not in receipt of Pension Credit will now no longer receive their Winter Fuel Payment each year.
Labour have been pretending today that they didn't know the state of the nation's finances before they got into Government. But the Chancellor herself told the Financial Times during the election campaign that 'you don't need to win an election to find out the state of public finances'. The truth is that Labour have inherited an economy where inflation is back at 2%, unemployment is nearly half what it was in 2010, and so far this year we are the fastest growing G7 economy.
Sometimes governments must make hard choices, and it is in these moments that their priorities are revealed. This Chancellor has chosen to withdraw a benefit designed to help keep pensioners warm in the winter while finding £7.3 billion for Ed Miliband's GB Energy gimmick, £8.3 billion for the National Wealth Fund, and around £10 billion for public sector pay awards, including a 22% above-inflation pay rise for junior doctors. That's £24 billion of extra spending in just 24 days.