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Sir Keir Starmer has been warned “people are going to die” as a result of his decision to scrap winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners.
The prime minister was confronted during a round of local radio interviews by a listener named Maxine who said “we just can’t keep warm” and that “elderly people are literally going to die”.
“How is he going to live with that?” Maxine asked. She added: “Is he going to have the courage to back down from a terrible decision?”
Speaking to BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Sir Keir said: “At the moment, until we bring in the changes, the allowance is paid to everyone, irrespective of whether they need it or not.
“A lot of pensioners will say ‘I don’t actually need it’, and I had to answer what difficult decisions we can make to ensure we use our money most effectively.”
The PM went on to talk about boosting funding for the NHS to bring down waiting lists, and encouraged those eligible for pension credits to ensure they take them up.
The row comes days after the government’s official analysis showed that the decision to means test winter fuel payments, announced in July by Rachel Reeves, will drive 100,000 additional pensioners into poverty by 2026.
It will strip the payments, worth up to £300, from around 10 million pensioners, driving 50,000 more into relative poverty next year, followed by another 50,000 in the following years.
And Maxine’s intervention came as regulator Ofgem confirmed the energy price cap will rise in January for a second consecutive time, with average energy bills set to jump 1.2 per cent to £1,738.
As the Met Office issued a new weather warning ahead of the arrival of Storm Bert this weekend, Age UK said many pensioners are now “hoping against hope” that something turns up to ease the strain. “The news that the energy price cap is instead slightly rising is the latest in a series of blows for pensioners living on a low or modest income, who do not receive Pension Credit because they don’t claim it or are not eligible,” Age UK director Caroline Abrahams said.
There are fears Sir Keir’s decision to means test winter fuel payments will lead to some pensioners dying. Labour’s own research, when the party was in opposition under Jeremy Corbyn, suggested that then Conservative plans to means test the payment could lead to 3,850 additional deaths.
Elsewhere in a bruising round of local radio interviews, Sir Keir was criticised over his decision to extend inheritance tax to cover agricultural properties. And he came under fire for the Labour government’s slow progress bringing down the number of migrants in small boats crossing the English Channel.
The winter fuel payment is being restricted to only those claiming pension credit from this winter, aimed at saving the public purse £1.5bn a year.
In a letter to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee on Tuesday, minister Liz Kendall said: “The latest modelling shows that compared to the numbers that would have been in poverty without this policy, it is estimated that in each year in question there will be an additional 50,000 pensioners in relative poverty after housing costs in 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2027-28, instead.
“The modelling also shows that an additional 100,000 pensioners are estimated to be in relative poverty after housing costs in 2026-27, 2028-29 and 2029-30.”
Responding to Ofgem’s price cap increase, shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said: “Labour’s reckless energy policies and their cruel plan to scrap the winter fuel payment for 10 million pensioners is leaving families worse off – as we are already starting to see.”
Energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “The rise in the energy price cap will cause concern for families struggling with the cost of living. That is why the Government will do all we can to help people.
“We are taking action to insulate homes, providing the Warm Home Discount to three million families, driving increased take up of pension credit, and working with suppliers to ensure there is help available for the most vulnerable customers.”
