Starmer wins vote on controversial plan to cut winter fuel allowance

A dozen Labour MPs abstained from the vote on cuts to the winter fuel payment.

Of the 52 Labour MPs, including seven ministers, who had no vote recorded, only a dozen were not authorised to be absent, PA understands.

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.”

Jeremy Corbyn questions which cuts will be coming next after winter fuel vote.

The SNP has hit out at the Scottish Labour MPs who backed the government's plans to cut the winter fuel allowance.

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.

For example, some may not record a vote because they were unable to attend due to other commitments.

Read the full story from PA.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride has criticised the government for not producing an impact assessment on the cuts to winter fuel allowance.

He told the Commons: “We have had no explanation as to why no impact assessments were provided. This is a major policy change which will remove entitlement for up to 10 million pensioners, including many who are already in poverty.

“It is a cut worth seven and a half billion over the course of this Parliament, rushing such a policy through without taking time to consider impacts, or ensure effective and fair implementation and allow possible scrutiny, is impossible to justify.”

He added: “The reality is the government want to rush this through so they can blame it on their predecessor, as I said, to avoid proper scrutiny,

“There is no need whatsoever for the haste with which this is being done, other than to meet the political ends of the Labour Party. They are ripping the plaster off and hoping the country will have forgotten by the time of the next general election, that is at the heart of it.

“But we will not forget. We would not have been given the opportunity to debate and vote on this measure without significant pressure from both the opposition and the wider public. This has nothing to do with fiscal responsibility and everything to do with political expediency. No scrutiny, no impact assessment, no notice. This is an appalling way to govern.”

Labour MP Jon Trickett confirmed that he voted against the party’s proposed removal of the winter fuel payment for some pensioners.

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, formerly known as Twitter, he said: “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.”

Age UK said it was disappointed by the decision to scrap the winter fuel allowance for millions of pensioners.

Shouts of “shame” could be heard in the House of Commons chamber as the result of the vote was announced.

MPs have voted in favour of cuts to the winter fuel allowance.

The Conservative motion to annul the Government’s cuts to winter fuel payments was defeated by 348 votes to 228, majority 120, in the House of Commons.

The payment will become a means-tested benefit rather than a universal benefit for pensioners.

Around 10 million pensioners are estimated to be losing out on the benefit as a result of the cut.

MPs are now voting on the winter fuel payment

Liz Kendall said pensioners deserved better than the "faux outrage" of Conservative MPs, and pledged that the Labour Party would get the country back on track.

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said commitment to the pension triple lock would see pensioners' income increase.

She said pensions would increase by "an extra £460" next April.

Conservative MP Saqib Bhatti repeatedly refused to give way during his comments, as he accused the Labour government of using pensioners as a political tool.

Martin Lewis says he has been asked to try to change the chancellorr's mind on winter fuel payments.

Father of the House Sir Edward Leigh, a Conservative former minister, accused the government of issuing a “punishment beating” against pensioners by cutting the winter fuel payment.

Leigh said there should be a “serious debate” about the total package given to pensioners, noting he has previously questioned aspects of the triple lock.

He told the Commons: “It’s a very difficult debate but I do understand that the total package paid to pensioners as a proportion of gross national product must not keep increasing every year because that is the way ultimately to bankrupt the country, and we need to have a social contract between older people, like myself, and younger people, particularly in terms of housebuilding.”

Leigh raised concerns for people who receive a small occupational pension but are not eligible for pension credit, saying they are “looking after every penny” but will suddenly lose the winter fuel payment.

He added: “I tell you what this is all about, this is about a punishment beating.”

Leigh described the “so-called £22 billion black hole” as a “mere accounting device”, adding: “What the Labour government is now trying to do is to make the political point that the Conservative Party ran the country into the ground and therefore we’ve got to punish the pensioners. It’s absolute and complete rubbish.”

Conservative MP Esther McVey accused Keir Starmer of being "out of touch" over winter fuel payments, and said the speed at which the cut was being introduced was "breathtaking".

"This government has been telling pensioners they didn't want to do this but tough financial decisions have to be made, but that is poppycock," she said.

She added that "money was no object" over train drivers' pay.

"Labour has basically declared war on pensioners which will neither be forgotten nor forgiven," she said.

Liberal Democrat Wendy Chamberlain confirmed she and other members of the party would be voting alongside the opposition against the government's plans.

"There is cruelty at the heart of this cut," she said, arguing that pensioners were facing a "double cut" this winter and that energy bills were higher than they were a few years ago.

Labour MP Meg Hillier said the financial situation was "worse" than people thought.

“The decision we are asked to make today is a difficult one, but sadly, it is not going to be the only difficult decision that faces this Labour government," she said.

"Before the last general election I had the privilege of having chaired the public accounts committee for this house for the last nine years.

"And in that role, I saw all of the impacts on the public finances current, past and future… You think it’s that bad, I know it’s a lot worse."

Labour's Meg Hillier, who has just been re-elected as chair of the Treasury committee, said she would be voting alongside the government on winter fuel payments.

She said tough choices had to be made to tackle the £22bn 'black hole' in the budget left by the last Conservative government.

Mel Stride suggested the government's plans will cost more than the money they are saving.

"The 880,000 pensioners who we know who are eligible for Pension Credit but are not yet receiving it will also suffer, and the party opposite may say they are going to have these wonderful campaigns that’s going to get everyone whose entitled onto Pension Credit," he said. "Even if they did that, that would see a cost to the Exchequer of £3.8 billion, which is over twice the money they say they are going to be saving.

"This is an absurd policy which their own plans are actually actively working against. And the haste at which this has been carried out is simply jaw dropping. We do not have any impact assessments. We do not know what the impact will be across the income distribution. Every member of this house does not know what the impact will be within their own constituency."

Shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride accused the Labour government of "broken promises" over the winter fuel payment.

He told the Commons: "What happened to integrity? What happened to transparency? It went out of the window. Broken promises already.

"What is the impact of these measures? What we do know is nine out of 10 pensioners will lose the winter fuel allowance – up to £300 at the most difficult time of year for millions of them, at a time when the energy guarantee – the price cap – is going up by 10%.

"And a suggestion from the members opposite that somehow this is just the wealthy who are affected – the millionaires – far from it. Two thirds of those pensioners who are living below the poverty line will have this benefit removed."

Other opposition members muttered "shocking" as Stride made his comments.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride began the debate on the winter fuel allowance, criticising the Labour government for pledging not to make cuts ahead of the general election, before announcing the cut to the winter fuel payment.

Millions of retirees are set to receive a 4pc increase in their state pension, worth £460, a year from April.

However, experts have warned that many pensioners won’t feel the impact of the triple lock increase as means-testing winter fuel payments will deprive millions of up to £300, leaving them with just £160 more.

Read the full story from Telegraph Finance.

There are no plans to widen the eligibility to the winter fuel payment, Downing Street has said.

“There’s no such plans,” a Number 10 spokeswoman said when asked by journalists on Tuesday.

Asked whether encouraging people who are eligible but not yet signed up for pension credit could wipe out the savings from restricting the allowance to the country’s poorest pensioners, she said: “The issue is that this policy has not been targeted previously… in line with that as well, it is right that anyone eligible for income-related benefits or pension credit is receiving it, and that’s why we’re making efforts to ensure that those who are eligible are converted on to it.”

Downing Street would not say whether Keir Starmer had spoken to MPs ahead of Tuesday’s vote as it does not comment on “MP engagement”.

Ahead of the vote on Winter Fuel Payment changes, some finance experts are uncertain as to what the outcome might be as they explained how each result could affect household finances across the country. Jason Cannon, benefits consulting director at Gallagher, sees two potential avenues arising - extra benefits or an extended deadline.

He explained: “Given that a cut to the winter fuel payment could impact the finances of millions of pensioners, the government should aim to prioritise extra financial support for retirees in the upcoming budget. Alternatively, the government may choose to delay the decision so any potential cut can be folded into a wider spending review in the forthcoming Spring.”

Read the full story from Teesside Live.

There are “plenty of very wealthy pensioners” who do not need the winter fuel payment, according to a work and pensions minister.

Emma Reynolds said the government was taking the decision to means-test the payment due to a “£22 billion black hole” in this year’s public finances “left by the previous government”.

She told a Westminster Hall debate: “In protecting the poorest pensioners on the lowest incomes and with the greatest need, it is the right decision given the tough choices that we face.

“Just to be very, very clear, I have spoken to a number of (MPs) present about the government’s decision and there actually is fairly widespread agreement that this benefit should not be universal.

“There are plenty of very wealthy pensioners who are getting transfers of £200, or £300 if they’re over 80, into their bank account and who don’t need it, so it’s right that we target this support on the poorest pensioners.”

Reynolds highlighted mitigation measures introduced by the government, including extending the Household Support Fund, and said it was a “national scandal” that the previous Conservative government had not done more to increase uptake of pension credit.

Labour MPs have questioned the economic case for government cuts to the winter fuel payment, warning the policy will also have a “humanitarian cost”.

Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, said a Labour government “must always protect the poorest in our society” before questioning the likely savings of the policy to limit the winter fuel payment to only those people claiming Pension Credit or other means-tested benefits.

Labour MP Andy McDonald, intervening on Maskell, told a Westminster Hall debate: “The winter fuel payment regulations amendment will take up to £300 per household from two groups of low-income pensioners – those eligible for Pension Credit who do not claim it and those who are just over the pension cliff edge but still living on very little.

“As I understand it, the Pension Credit take-up is around 63% and this will at best be 68% and the saving to the public purse is predicated on that basis, but the savings will be wiped out if everyone eligible took up the Pension Credit, which surely should be the goal.

“Does she agree with me that this simply doesn’t stack up?”

Maskell replied: “I think (Mr McDonald) has done the maths and I think it speaks for itself. The chancellor cannot therefore make this just an economic argument as there is also a humanitarian cost too, and we need to have the capacity to find that escape route, as (former Treasury minister) Ed Balls stated, as people need a safety net.”

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has raised an alert following a surge in interest for £11,300 payouts. The DWP has provided an important update regarding Pension Credit applications after witnessing a flood of claims for the benefit that acts as a gateway to additional support.

This year, Pension Credit not only offers free BBC TV licences and council tax reductions but also enables claimants to apply for the £300 Winter Fuel Payment. The appetite for the benefit has soared following the government's move to scrap the Winter Fuel Payment.

Read the full story from Chronicle Live.

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said taxes are “already high on working people” when asked why the Labour government would not target the wealthy instead of cutting the winter fuel payment.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We have a Budget coming up but we’ve made clear that taxes which we’ve inherited are already high on working people.”

MPs showed “strong support” for Rachel Reeves’ plan to scale back winter fuel payments during a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party, a spokesperson for the Chancellor said.

The Chancellor said she understood the concerns and then “set out the rationale behind the decision and there was strong support,” the spokesperson said.

Asked if there were plans for any further measures to mitigate the impact of the cuts, the spokesperson pointed to the extension of the Household Support Fund by six months and the commitment to the pensions triple lock.

He said: “The vote is happening tomorrow, that will mean the winter fuel change will happen tomorrow. There are no plans for any further mitigations.”

Asked if there could be some in the budget, he said: “All budget decisions are taken, but there’s no plans for further mitigations relating to this.”

Labour 'did not expect a fuss on this scale' over winter fuel payments, says Sky's Sam Coates.

A campaign to increase the number of people claiming pension credit is being launched by the government after announcing that winter fuel payments will be restricted to those “most in need”.

About 10 million pensioners are expected to lose out on winter fuel payments as a result of the policy, which is part of the government's plan to tackle a £22bn “black hole” in public finances.

Read the full story from Yahoo News.

It is not “fair” to suggest Chancellor Rachel Reeves is behaving like the “Grinch” over the cut to the winter fuel allowance, a Cabinet minister said.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds was asked about remarks made by RMT general secretary Mick Lynch at the TUC Congress, where he said that Labour would be likened to the Grinch – a term used against him during a strike by railway workers last year – over the policy.

“I don’t think that that is fair in any way,” he told LBC.

“What we have been able to do is first of all be serious about decisions that the previous government has sat on… it’s nothing like the kind of austerity that we saw under George Osborne.

“It is a recognition that where the previous government has made commitments that it can’t honour, you’ve got to be responsible within there.”

Millions of retirees will be handed a £460 pay rise in April, thanks to the state pension “triple lock”.

Labour will be keen to frame the boost as a big win for pensioners, one that will more than make up for its decision to deny millions of elderly people their winter fuel payments, worth up to £300 a year.

However, scrapping the benefit could be the tip of the iceberg as the screws tighten on retirees over the course of the next Parliament.

Read the full story from The Telegraph.

Ofgem has confirmed that annual household energy bills are set to soar by £149 on average in the coming months. From October 1, the energy price cap will jump from £1,568 to £1,717.

It's important to note that the price cap doesn't put a ceiling on the total bill households pay. Instead, it sets the rate for each unit of gas and electricity consumed.

Read the full story from Manchester Evening News.

Labour has decided to “pick the pocket of pensioners” while leaving the richest “totally untouched”, the head of the UK’s largest trade union has said as pressure mounts for the Government to U-turn on means testing winter fuel payments.

Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, urged Sir Keir Starmer to “do a U-turn” on the policy, which would see winter fuel payments restricted to only the poorest pensioners.

Read the full story from PA.

State pension payments will leave retirees over £5,000 short of meeting their basic needs – even after an expected pay rise in April, analysis shows.

A single pensioner living alone would need an income of £17,200 a year to achieve a “minimum” standard of living, according to a study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation think tank.

The “full” state pension is currently £11,502 a year for anyone who retired after 2016. The “triple lock” ensures that payments rise each year by the highest of inflation, wage growth or 2.5pc.

Read the full story from The Telegraph.

Martin Lewis has issued a warning over the reported Triple Lock hike. The BBC and ITV star spoke out as the latest UK labour market statistics, just released, show that total pay - including bonuses - rose by 4% between May and July.

The triple lock was first introduced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition Government in 2010.

Referencing the £460 uplift, Mr Lewis said: "That starts next April. This winter most pensioners are facing (looking at energy bills alone) a typical £500 higher cost compared to last (energy bills are £100ish cheaper, but no £300 cost of living payment, no £300 winter fuel payment)."

Read the full story from the Manchester Evening News.

Winter Fuel Payments will be stopped for millions of pensioners this winter as Labour pushes on with its plan to boost public finances by means-testing the cold weather benefit.

The Labour government has been urged to review its decision affecting 10 million pensioners after the regulator Ofgem announced household energy bills will rise by £150 in October.

Read the full story from The Independent.

As the government plans to scrap winter fuel allowance to the outrage of campaigners, Yahoo News looks at how UK pensioners' wealth has changed over the years.

While pensioners, on the whole, are generally better off than their predecessors, recent figures show pensioner poverty rates have been on the rise for the past decade, with a growing number relying on food banks for support.

Read the full story from Yahoo News.

An independent MP has said he has been emailed by hundreds of "scared constituents" about winter fuel payments.

Ian Byrne said the changes will "harm so many pensioners just above the pension credit threshold".

Byrne posted a copy of a letter he has written to the Chancellor on X, including samples of hundreds of emails he had received about the issue.

Bryne was one of the seven Labour MPs who had the whip withdrawn for voting against the government in July.

A rebel Labour MP has warned that pensioners will die if the government goes ahead with its plan to means test the winter fuel payment.

Leeds East MP Richard Burgon, who was one of seven Labour MPs who had the whip suspended in July after voting against the government on the two-child benefit cap, appeared on LBC on Monday night.

He told presenter Andrew Marr: “If this goes through without movement from the government, I’m afraid that constituents in my constituency, and others will die as a result.”

Watch the video below

David Cameron has criticised the government’s “misguided attack” on winter fuel payments and argued it should rethink to save “the shame and embarrassment”.

The Conservative peer, one of the architects of austerity in the 2010s alongside George Osborne, suggested the eligibility criteria for receiving the allowance should be raised using the tax system to exclude more wealthy pensioners.

Watch the video below.

The decision to axe winter fuel payments for all but the poorest pensioners has become the Labour government’s first political crisis. So what is it about?

What is the benefit, and how is it changing?

Introduced in 1997 by the then-chancellor, Gordon Brown, the winter fuel payment was intended to help older people with their heating costs during the colder months. Paid annually in autumn, it is £200 or £300, depending on age, and had always been universal – paid to everyone, irrespective of income or wealth.

Read the full story from The Guardian.

The full state pension is set to rise by £460 from next April, according to official wage figures released on Tuesday.

While this is the lowest increase for nearly four years, it will mean pensioners can expect to see their full, flat-rate state pension go up to £11,962.60 a year from next April – a rise of £460.

However, one expert cautioned the rise will only partially offset the pain for the millions of pensioners who are being stripped of their winter fuel allowance.

Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “There’s every chance it’s not enough to placate those pensioners still reeling from the loss of the winter fuel payments, especially given how close this is edging to busting the personal allowance.”

Read the full story from PA

Former Labour MP Zarah Sultana has said she will vote against the government in today's winter fuel payment vote in the House of Commons.

Sultana was one of seven Labour MPs to receive a six-month suspension in July after voting in favour of scrapping the two-child benefit cap.

On Monday night, she said "deserve better than Tory austerity versus Labour austerity".

London MPs including Diane Abbott have joined Commons moves challenging axing winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners.

Ms Abbott, Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, and Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Labour MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, have signed an Early Day Motion highlighting concerns over Sir Keir Starmer’s plans to restrict the special fuel payment for pensioners to just those receiving pension credit.

The EDM is also backed by John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington, and Apsana Begum, MP for Poplar and Limehouse.

Read the full story from the Evening Standard.