Winter fuel payment latest: MPs vote to cut pensioner allowance after Starmer says he ‘makes no apologies’
No.10 have made it clear they will not back down from the ‘tough decision’ despite strong opposition
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MPs have voted to cut the winter fuel allowance for ten million pensioners.
The Conservative motion to repeal the Government’s cuts to winter fuel payments has been defeated by 348 votes to 228.
Sir Keir Starmer has successfully seen off a backbench rebellion but his majority has fell to 120. The Government’s working majority is 167.
No.10 have made it clear they will not back down from the “tough decision”, despite strong opposition from its own MPs and trade unions.
This comes as the PM said he will not apologise for the changes Labour have made. In a speech at the TUC Congress today, Sir Keir Starmer said “this election would not have been won if we had not changed”.
“I make no apologies for any for the decisions we have had to take to begin the work of change and no apologies to those still stuck in the 1980s who believe that unions and business can only stand at odds leaving working people in the middle.”
On Monday, the president of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in Brighton, Matt Wrack, warned that a second wave of austerity will boost the rise of the far right in Britain’s left-behind communities and spoke out against the winter fuel allowance cut.
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Priti Patel brands Labour government “cruel and ideological”
Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel said the removal of winter fuel payments was an “assault” on pensioners as she branded Sir Keir Starmer’s Government as “cruel and ideological”.
She said: “Who would have thought that one of the first acts of this cruel, ideological Labour Government would be to assault the nation’s pensioners and remove winter fuel payments.
“Let’s be quite candid, we are now seeing the nation’s pensioners fall victim to what is an ideological decision, Labour’s betrayal, while they have literally succumbed to their union paymasters through the gross amount of public spending they are shovelling in the pockets of their payments.”
Dame Priti said there had been a lack of transparency over the policy, including no impact assessment being published.
She added: “I would like to ask the frontbench about how they have made this spurious claim that they had no choice in this decision, when you bear in mind that a member of their Government claimed a couple of weeks ago there would be a run on the pound without this decision, which is just extraordinary and speaks of the fiscal ineptitude of this Government, so desperate are they to justify this desperate cut.”
Prime minster welcomes the progress that has been made following vote, his spokesperson says
Sir Keir Starmer welcomes the progress of his policy to cut the winter fuel allowance after he saw off a backbench rebellion over the plans, the Prime Minister’s spokeswoman said.
She told journalists: “The Prime Minister has been clear about the importance of this policy, and while it is not something that he or the Chancellor wanted to do, it is necessary as part of our efforts to balance the books and address the £22 billion black hole.
“The Government was elected on a mandate to restore financial stability and fix the foundations of the country – that is vital before you can grow the economy. And so this policy is in line with that, and he welcomes the progress that’s made.”
Mapped: How did my MP vote on the winter fuel allowance motion?
Take a look the article below to see how you MP voted on the winter fuel allowance motion.
Mapped: How did my MP vote in the winter fuel allowance motion?
MPs voted 348 to 228 to axe the payment for all but the country’s poorest pensioners, rejecting a Tory bid for the controversial policy to be blocked
Politics Explained: Can Starmer woo the unions back into a fulfilling relationship with Labour?
The prime minister’s appearance at the TUC was met with politeness rather than enthusiasm – but perhaps that’s the best he could expect. Sean O’Grady looks at how the political and industrial arms of the Labour movement might make a go of it this time round
Read the full Politics Explained article here.
Labour MP says she would have voted against the Government if she could
Clapham and Brixton Hill Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy said she had been unable to attend the vote because she had been in Ghana for her father’s funeral, but would have defied the Government if she had been in the UK.
She said in a post on X: “For clarity, the reason I am unable to attend today’s vote on winter fuel payment cuts is because I am still out of the country following my Dad’s funeral in Ghana.
“If I was able to attend in-person, I would be voting against these cuts.”
MPs who were recently suspended by Labour vote with tories
Five independent MPs who were recently suspended from the Labour Party backed the Tories - John McDonnell, Apsana Begum, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne and Zarah Sultana.
These MPs currently suspended from the party after rebelling over the two-child benefit cap in July.
Labour MP says ‘I could not in good conscience vote to make my constituents poorer'
Labour MP Jon Trickett confirmed that he voted against the party’s proposed removal of the winter fuel payment for some pensioners.
Mr Trickett, who was a shadow cabinet member during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership said he feared the measure would cause more pensioners to fall into poverty during the winter.
In a statement posted on X, he said: “This winter will be extremely difficult for my constituents of all ages. After years of obscene profiteering by energy companies, they are hiking bills once again.
“I fear that removing the payment from pensioners will mean that many more will fall into poverty this winter. We know that the consequences of pensioner poverty are devastating. It can even be a matter of life and death. I have worked behind the scenes to try and change the Government’s position, but to no avail.
“Our country is richer than it’s ever been, but the wealth is not shared fairly. In my view the Government should be looking to raise revenues from the wealthiest in society, not working class pensioners.
“I could not in good conscience vote to make my constituents poorer. I will sleep well tonight know that I voted to defend my constituents.”
One Labour MP rebels and no vote recorded for 53 government MPs
The division list has shown Labour MP for Normanton and Hemsworth Jon Trickett supported the Conservation motion.
No vote was recorded for 53 Labour MPs, although this does not automatically equate to an abstention for each MP as they may have received permission to miss a vote.
Starmer sees off backbench rebellion in winter fuel allowance vote
Sir Keir Starmer has seen off a backbench rebellion over plans to cut the winter fuel allowance but the Government’s majority fell to 120.
MPs voted 348 to 228 against the Tory motion for the controversial policy to be blocked.
A list of how MPs voted will be available shortly, though it will not be immediately clear how many actively chose to abstain as it will only show who voted in favour, against and who did not record a vote.
The Government’s working majority is 167.
Labour has declared a ‘war on pensioners’, former minister claims
Former ‘minister for common sense’ Esther McVey has claimed Labour has “declared war on pensioners”.
She told the Commons: “The public knows this decision to rob millions of pensioners of their winter fuel allowance – for which the Government has no mandate – has nothing to do with economics, and everything to do with cynical political calculations, and the haste with which it is being done is breathtaking.”
The Tory MP accused Labour of “ditching” its beliefs, adding: “This Government have been telling pensioners they didn’t want to do this, but tough financial decisions must be made, but we all know that’s poppycock, that wasn’t the Government’s message to the already highly paid train drivers, when they met them, money was no object, have as much as you want, the public are not as stupid as this Government thinks they are.”
“Labour has basically declared war on pensioners, which will neither be forgotten or forgiven,” she concluded.
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