Keir Starmer’s cabinet is united behind plans to dramatically scale back the winter fuel allowance, Downing Street has insisted amid mounting calls, including within Labour ranks, for the UK Government to soften the policy.
The Scottish Government has also cut the benefit north of the border with First Minister John Swinney saying the policy is unaffordable after Labour’s decision in England and Wales.
Holyrood will lose up to £160m from its budget as a result of the UK Government’s decision while tens of thousands of pensioners in Scotland will be impacted by the change.
Swinney is among those calling for Rachel Reeves to reverse the cut.
But a Number 10 spokesperson said after Monday’s meeting chaired by the Prime Minister that ministers are “agreed” on the importance of “fixing the foundations of the economy” by taking tough and unpopular spending decisions.
Asked by reporters whether there had been any dissent over the planned cut, which will see all but the country’s poorest pensioners stripped of the winter fuel payment, she said there had been none.
“The Prime Minister opened cabinet by stating the importance of fixing the foundations of our economy in order to carry out the Government’s mandate for change,” the spokesperson said.
“He said that, given the scale of inheritance, this would be difficult and that tough decisions are unpopular decisions, but it is the tough decisions that will enable change for this country.”
Disavowing suggestions made by a Home Office minister on Monday’s broadcast round that the Treasury is looking at ways to mitigate the cut, No 10 said there had been no discussion of softening the impact of the policy.
Asked whether Diana Johnson had been “freelancing” when she indicated the Government is considering doing more than encouraging further take-up of Pension Credit, Downing Street said the remarks had been “promptly corrected”.
iStockIt comes amid union unrest over the policy and ahead of a Commons vote on Tuesday when the Prime Minister is likely to suffer another backbench rebellion.
Some 17 Labour MPs have now signed a motion put forward by Neil Duncan-Jordan, one of the parliamentary party’s newly elected members, calling on the Government to delay implementing the cut.
The motion has also been backed by six of the seven MPs who lost the party whip in July after voting against the King’s Speech over the Government’s refusal to abolish the two-child benefit cap.
However, ministers continue to insist the cut is necessary to help fill a £22bn “black hole” in this year’s budget left by their Conservative predecessors.
Unite union general secretary Sharon Graham accused Labour of deciding to “pick the pocket of pensioners” while leaving the richest “totally untouched” and urged Sir Keir to “do a U-turn” on means-testing the allowance.
She called instead for a tax on the “1% wealthiest”, which she claimed would raise £25bn rather than the £1.2bn restricting winter fuel payments would save.
Meanwhile, Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union general secretary Mick Lynch said the UK Government is making a “historic mistake”.
“They will have to do something about this historic mistake, otherwise we will start to see the consequences this winter,” he told a fringe meeting at the TUC Congress in Brighton.
Under the plans announced by the chancellor in July, winter fuel payments will be restricted to those receiving Pension Credit, meaning around 10 million pensioners across the UK will lose out this winter.
Ahead of the vote, Reeves will speak at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday in an effort to address backbench concerns.
Earlier on Monday, Home Office minister Johnson told the BBC the Government is working to ensure all pensioners who are entitled to Pension Credit claim the benefit, adding that she is “sure” other mitigations are being looked at by ministers.
However, Treasury sources said she “misspoke” in suggesting the Government is looking at doing more than encouraging further take-up of Pension Credit.
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