UK politics – live: Reeves says pensioners can afford winter fuel payment cuts as MPs call for Israel arms ban

Rachel Reeves has said that pensioners should be able to afford the government’s decision to slash winter fuel payments because of increases to the state pension and energy bills being lower than previous years.

Wendy Morton, the Tory former Cabinet minister, questioned Ms Reeves decision to implement the controversial policy that will impact 10 million pensioners who have “worked hard all their lives”.

Ms Reeves replied: “The increases in the basic state pension mean that constituents of hers are £900 better off than they were a year ago and of course energy bills are lower this year than they were last year.

Ms Reeves appearance in the House of Commons comes amid a deepening row over the UK’s decision to suspend the export of some arms to Israel.

At least 12 people have died and others are feared missing after a boat carrying more than 60 migrants sank off the French coast, officials have said.

A major air and sea operation was launched on Tuesday after the boat got into difficulty off Gris-Nez point, close to Calais, plunging all those onboard into the water in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

“Unfortunately, the bottom of the boat ripped open,” said Olivier Barbarin, mayor of Le Portel near the fishing port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, where a first-aid post was set up to treat victims.

Both Mr Barbarin and Etienne Baggio, a spokesperson for the French maritime prefecture which oversees that stretch of sea, said rescuers recovered 61 people from the water.

Andy Gregory reports

A former frontbencher has hit out at the government’s plans to strip the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners as Keir Starmer faces a growing Labour backlash over the issue.

Melanie Onn has called on ministers to consider changes to the policy to ensure older people are “not left in the cold this winter”.

Her warning comes as pressure mounts on the prime minister over the decision to remove the allowance from 10 million people, after the regulator Ofgem announced household energy bills will rise by £150 in October.

Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports

A criminal social media post shared by the wife of a Conservative Party councillor “did not violate X rules”, users who reported it claimed they were told.

Lucy Connolly, 41, could be facing a “substantial” prison sentence for the post, in which she called for hotels housing migrants to be set alight and for “mass deportation now”.

The childminder pleaded guilty to publishing threatening or abusive material intending to stir up racial hatred at Northampton Crown Court on Monday.

Athena Stavrou reports

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed the government will be capping corporation tax at 25 per cent , as part of a “tax roadmap for business” which will be set out at the Budget.

During Treasury questions, Ms Reeves told the Commons: “Investment is at the heart of this Government’s growth mission, alongside stability and reform, with robust fiscal rules and respect for economic institutions, the Government is building the confidence needed to deliver private sector investment.

“It is vital also that the tax system supports growth, and that’s why today I can confirm that at the Budget the Government will be outlining a tax roadmap for business, to offer the certainty that encourages investment and gives business the confidence to grow, including our commitment to cap corporation tax at 25% for the duration of this Parliament, and to retain full expensing.”

Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, has praised the UK’s decision to suspend the export of some arms to Israel and called on other countries to impose a complete arms embargo on the country.

Posting on X, he said: “The Uk did right to suspend some arms exports licenses to Israel. We urge an expansion of this suspension and call on all countries to impose a complete arms embargo on Israel. Unless consequences are real, Netanyahu will not end his aggression on Gaza and the West Bank, and will not stop violating international law and threatening the security of the whole region.”

Tory leadership hopeful James Cleverly has accused foreign secretary David Lammy of damaging the UK’s relationship with the United States and Israel.

Posting on X in response to the government’s decision to suspend the export of some arms to Israel, he said: “The Foreign Secretary has damaged two of our most important relationships at a crucial time – and it won’t have the impact he wants.”

MPs have raised concerns about cuts to the winter fuel allowance, with one saying that 90 per cent of pensioners in Devon and Cornwall will be affected by the partial scrapping of the benefit.

Steve Darling, Liberal Democrat MP for Torbay said that in his constituency in Devon that 21,000 pensioners will be impacted by the cut.

He said: “Whilst many of us would acknowledge that you were left with a massive financial challenge when coming into this House, one remains extremely concerned for residents who have reached out to myself and many colleagues with their major concerns about being able to make ends meet as we enter into the winter period. They have had no time to save for this, and therefore it’s a complete shock to them.

“What assurances can you give us that you’ll be supporting those who are most vulnerable, and if it’s failing to achieve this, what assurances can you give that you will scrap these proposals?”

In response, the chancellor Rachel Reeves said that the government was working with charities and local authorities to encourage pensioners who are entitled to the pension credit benefit to apply to do so, adding: “I want to ensure that the lowest income pensioners get the support that they are entitled to.

“Under the previous government, 800,000 pensioner households entitled to pension credit were not receiving it.

“That is why this Government is currently undertaking action to encourage uptake of the pension credit, to ensure that the poorest pensioners, those who are not even receiving that minimum income guarantee are getting it.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has defended the decision to cut winter fuel allowance payments for some pensioners, as she said that it should be offset by increases to pensions and lower energy prices this winter compared with last year.

Ms Reeves said that the state pension was worth £900 more than last year, and that it will rise again next April under the triple lock, which guarantees it will rise by inflation, average wage growth or 2.5%.

Responding to questions in the Commons, she said: “We inherited a £22 billion blackhole from the previous government who made unfunded spending commitments with no idea how to pay them.

“When I became Chancellor I took an immediate audit of the spending situation to understand the scale of that challenge, and I made difficult decisions to put the public finances on a sustainable footing. They were tough decisions, but they were the right decisions.

“This includes the decision to make the winter fuel payment better targeted so pensioners who need it most, will get it alongside pension credits.”