A devastated pensioner has accused Keir Starmer of wanting him to “die” following the controversial axing of the winter fuel payment.

Terence Pape, 79 and his wife Irene, 78 have both had heart surgery in the last year and are on medication that they say makes it difficult for them to stay warm.

The couple, from Hull, are just two out of 2.5million pensioners across the UK who have been stripped of the lifeline £300 benefit by the Labour government, a move which will force the most vulnerable to choose between heating and eating.

Mr Pape, a former RAF serviceman from Hull said: “I think Starmer would be quite pleased if we die and are no longer a problem.

“I mean that, I really don’t know how we will keep warm and survive through the cold winter months.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has defended the policy, insisting that it is crucial if the government is to address the “£22 billion black hole” left by the Conservatives, but has struggled to convince people within her own party of the merits of the policy.

Labour’s large majority allowed them to defeat a Conservative amendment to block the removal of the payment, but the abstention of over 50 MPs from the vote and one rebel spoke volumes of the mood within the parliamentary party.

It is estimated that the removal of the payment will save the government around £1 billion, a fraction of the black hole being used to justify it.

At this week’s party conference, several Labour MPs, including the Prime Minister, have defended the cuts, claiming that the government’s protection of the triple lock will ultimately make pensioners better off.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) has previously disputed the claims, with Mr Pape also unconvinced.

Mr Pape hit back: “The Conservatives would have protected the triple lock and kept the winter fuel payment so I think he is talking rubbish.

“It is too simplistic and does not factor in energy prices rises or other variables – we all know that pensioners will be worse off.”

The government has been widely criticised for not conducting an impact assessment prior to introducing the policy, meaning the effects on those elderly people who relied on the payment is not thoroughly understood.

Mr Pape said: “We can’t move about like we used to and struggle to keep warm. I’ve already had to put the heating on because of our blood thinning and cardio medication.”

Age UK highlights that some pensioners, such as Mr and Mrs Pape, require their heating to be on due to illness whilst others might need to use a washing machine daily, such as those with incontinence issues.

Caroline Abrahams CBE, Charity Director at Age UK who have launched a petition to pressure the government to halt the changes said: “We’re deeply disappointed, but not surprised, that the vote to brutally means-test Winter Fuel Payment was passed.

“We just don’t think it’s fair to remove the payment from the 2.5 million pensioners on low incomes who badly need it, and to do it so quickly this winter, at the same time as energy bills are rising by 10 percent.”

Labour has held firm on their plans to remove the universal benefit despite unions winning a non-binding vote at the Labour Party conference calling on the government to reverse the policy.

The vote comes as a blow to Labour leadership, who have seen their first party conference in power dogged by fury over MP’s declarations of gifts