Labour’s war on pensioners has now become sadistic

Keir Starmer
The outrage over cuts to winter fuel payments is showing no sign of dying down - Adam Vaughan/Shutterstock

Sir Keir Starmer declared at the Labour party conference this week that any criticism of him and his government was “water off a duck’s back”.

But surely, when a charity dedicated to the care and dignity of the elderly is criticising you, that cannot simply be shrugged off?

Despite the Government’s desire for it to disappear, the outrage over cuts to winter fuel payments is showing no sign of dying down. Union leaders have on Wednesday again demanded that Rachel Reeves should “U-turn” over the decision, after winning a non-binding vote at the conference in Liverpool.

It should be about the fifth wake-up call for the Chancellor over this disastrous policy but, as she and the Prime Minister indicated in their speeches, they are determined to forge ahead.

I’d humbly suggest to Sir Keir and his Chancellor that now is the time to listen to criticism and consider that they might actually be wrong.

Taking away energy bill support worth up to £300 from 10 million pensioners was the first major action of Sir Keir’s new government. It was greeted with dismay back in July, but the more time passes, the more unjustifiable this policy becomes.

Firstly, it makes no economic sense. Commons leader, Lucy Powell, argued the move, which will save just £1.4bn a year, was necessary to stop a run on the pound. Sir Keir has also tried to argue it was vital to save the NHS. Both are laughable.

By restricting the allowance to those on pension credit only, the Government is now dealing with a flood of claims for the benefit – each one eating into the alleged savings. There’s also no apparent need to save such a small sum, especially after it last week emerged that the Bank of England had handed Labour a fiscal boost worth up to £10bn.

Secondly, the raid on pensioners is not reasonable in any sense. There are, of course, a handful of retirees who do not need the money, those who spend their winter fuel payment on fine wine every year.

But Labour didn’t just decide to take the money of the very wealthiest, it decided that even pensioners below the poverty line didn’t deserve it either.

Thirdly, and as critics are screaming out, the decision will pile more pressure on the NHS this winter.

Caroline Abrahams, of charity Age UK, has warned that as many as 2.5 million pensioners could have their health compromised by the cut. Labour’s own research previously indicated that removing the allowance could kill close to 4,000 pensioners a year.

Labour is making a statement about who deserves handouts and who doesn’t. The party wants pensioners to financially suffer.

There’s no justifiable reason why Labour should take this money away. This is why this cruel attack on pensioners has now become sadistic.

If Sir Keir and Ms Reeves refuse to listen to the cacophony of warnings around this policy, they are proceeding knowing full well that this policy will kill people. You can sense the unease within Parliament growing around the decision.

Labour promised to protect pensioners in the election. But that promise now appears to be worth very little – and voters will not forget this in a hurry.