Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have tried to “con” pensioners over Winter Fuel Payments and taxes, top Tories have warned.

James Cleverly – who is running to be the next leader of the Conservative Party – said millions of older people feel “betrayed” by Labour.

The shadow home secretary insisted the Prime Minister and Chancellor are prioritising union barons over “pensioners and working people”, adding claims of an economic black hole are a “con” to convince people of the need to scrap Winter Fuel Payments and justify tax hikes.

And Dame Priti Patel, who is also running to replace Rishi Sunak, said Labour cannot “hide their deceitful practices from the British people”.

Daily Express readers – including some Labour voters – have declared they feel cheated by the “heartless decision” to cancel the universal payments of up to £300 that will leave some choosing between food and fuel.

Mr Cleverly told the Daily Express: “Labour were elected on false promises. We knew they didn’t mean it when they said they wouldn’t raise taxes.

“Starmer and Reeves were trying to con people during the campaign and they are trying to con us now about the inheritance we left them. A growing economy and low inflation are being used to pay their union paymasters at the expense of pensioners and working people.

“This is a betrayal of the British people.”

Dame Priti Patel said: “This nasty Labour Government have taken the Winter Fuel Payment from pensioners and are tax ing families and businesses more. They can’t hide their deceitful practices from the British people.

“The British people know what bad inheritance looks like. In 2010, the Conservatives inherited an economy where the former Chief Secretary to The Treasury said ‘there’s no money left’.

“Things are only going to get worse under Labour as they increase your taxes, bring us back into the EU’s orbit and hand people smugglers a blank cheque to increase illegal migration.”

A senior Cabinet minister – Pat McFadden – defended the decision on Sunday, insisting Labour found “billions of pounds of unfunded spending commitments”.

But Mr Cleverly told the Daily Express: “We left them with a fast-growing economy; low inflation, and low unemployment.

“But, as sure as night follows day, Labour have now revealed they will indeed raise taxes for hard working people up and down the country. Clearly something they had planned to do all along.

“10 million pensioners will lose their Winter Fuel Payment. Labour said nothing about that in their manifesto, so have no democratic mandate to do it and pensioners will rightly feel betrayed.”

Former First Secretary of State, Damian Green, added: “Labour’s terrible decision on the winter fuel allowances has, out of the blue, and with no forewarning at all, alienated 10 million pensioners.

“This government is vulnerable and over a few years will be vulnerable to a competent to a well-led Tory party.”

Charities have warned millions of pensioners will face their worst winter on record after the energy regulator announced a hike in energy bills.

Ofgem confirmed that the price cap would rise by 10pc, so a typical household energy bill will increase to £1,717 a year starting in October – up from £1,568 in July.

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition has warned millions of pensioners will have to find an extra £500 to heat their homes.

And Sir Keir and Ms Reeves are even facing calls from their own MPs to revisit the hated decision.

Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, a left-wing thorn in the Government’s side, said it is “becoming increasingly obvious that there has to be some form of climb down” amid fears over the impact on pensioners.

Mr McFadden told LBC he understood why people were “unhappy” about the decision, but said the Chancellor had an “overriding responsibility” to “ensure the public finances are on an even keel”.

Lady Harriet Harman, a former deputy Labour leader under the Gordon Brown administration, told Times Radio: “I think that people will be worried about Winter Fuel Payments because the lower your income, the bigger the chunk, the bigger percentage of your income you spend on your fuel.

“And also for pensioners, they are on a fixed income so there is no remedial way they can earn more to offset it.”

Lady Harman, who stood down as an MP at the last election after more than 40 years in the Commons and is now a Labour peer, went on to question whether the Government has “got the cut-off line right”.

She said: “At the moment they are saying only people who qualify for pension credit can get the Winter Fuel Payment. There is a big under-claiming on pension credit because there are hundreds of pages of forms to fill in.”

Daily Express reader Janet Burgess told this newspaper: “I am 74-years-old and to discover the Labour government has stopped the Winter Fuel Payment is completely devastating.

“I am worried sick how I will pay my heating bills this coming winter.

“As echoed by millions, it will be a case of eating or heating.

“We will not be voting Labour again in four years time. But, by then, a lot of us will have died of hypothermia. Rachel Reeves has signed the death warrant.”

Another, Karen Stierer branded the move a “heartless decision, adding: “I am always cold, even in Summer.

“I dread Winter. Once again, thanks to Labour, I will not get any help with my heating.

“I only put it on first thing in the morning for an hour, and again for 2 hours in the evening.

“No one should have to live like this. If it is too cold, I dare not go out.

“If it is icy, I definitely don’t go out. – too afraid of falling and breaking a bone. Is this really how Retirement is meant to be?

“Shame on Rachel Reeves. While she is busy appeasing the doctors, nurses, train drivers and anyone else who has a union and cares to jump on the band wagon, us pensioners are left to suffer.”

The Prime Minister will on Tuesday warn “things will get worse before we get better”.

Many believe Sir Keir is paving the way for tax rises in the October Budget.

Sir Keir will claim: “We have inherited not just an economic black hole but a societal black hole. And that is why we have to take action and do things differently.

“Part of that is being honest with people – about the choices we face. And how tough this will be.

“Frankly – things will get worse before we get better.”

Mr McFadden told pensioners concerned about plans to restrict winter fuel payments that it is “not a decision (Labour) wanted to take”.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mr McFadden said: “When we came into office we found billions of pounds of unfunded spending commitments… so we had to make a very difficult decision.

“It’s really important that people know that if they’re entitled to Pension Credit they’ll still get this benefit. There are an estimated almost 900,000 pensioners who are entitled to Pension Credit who don’t currently claim it.

“We will do everything we can to encourage people to claim this. We want people to claim things they’re entitled to.”

He continued: “The other thing that’s really important that pensioners are confident in is that we will protect the triple lock throughout the course of this Parliament. So there are measures to protect the pension alongside this very difficult decision.”