Cabinet minister, who lives in a £4m luxury London mansion, axed payments to pensioners despite having her own energy bills in her second home paid for by taxpayer
Liz Kendall can claim costs for the second property she rents in her constituency
Liz Kendall has been slammed for claiming up to £350 a month from the taxpayer for energy costs while cutting winter fuel relief for millions of pensioners.
In her role as Work and Pensions Secretary, she oversaw removing the payment for 10million pensioners while bills at her second home are being taken care of from the public purse.
Ms Kendall’s main base is a four-bedroom property in Notting Hill, west London, which she shares with her partner.
But she is allowed to claim costs for the second property she rents in her Leicester West constituency.
The most recent documents held by the House of Commons show she claimed a total of £3,810 in energy costs between April 2023 and July this year, with the largest monthly bills totalling £352, according to the Mail on Sunday.
Ms Kendall’s decision to axe the annual winter fuel payment of between £100 and £300 for all but the poorest pensioners will force 100,000 people into poverty by 2027, according to her own department’s forecasts.
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The Daily Express has handed a petition calling for the winter fuel payment to be saved to Downing Street
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “The hypocrisy of the Labour Government knows no bounds. I will not be claiming a penny in expenses for my heating.”
Conservative MP David Simmonds said: “This revelation will be a kick in the teeth for the 10million pensioners facing choosing between heating and eating this Chr istmas because of Labour and Liz Kendall’s political choice to cut the winter fuel payment.
“While Liz Kendall is living a life of luxury, the country is facing real-life consequences of Labour’s ill thought-out decisions.
“In four short months, this Labour Government have made it clear they do not have the British people’s best interests at heart.”
The Daily Express and the Silver Voices campaign group have demanded that the Government reverses the cruel cut.
Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, said: “Many people will be furious – rightfully furious. It’s the hypocrisy of it all.”
A source close to Ms Kendall defended the minister, telling the Sunday newspaper: “The accommodation costs budget is designed to meet costs incurred by MPs as a result of working from two permanent locations.
“MPs of all parties are entitled to this, and they continue paying their utility bills for their own homes like everyone else.”
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Ms Kendall is understood to have bought the three-storey London townhouse with financier James Ind for £3.9 million in January 2021.
It boasts four bedrooms, four reception rooms and three bathroom, with estate agent pictures from the time revealing plush interiors, with a magnificent gilt-framed painting and a large fireplace in the living room.
The Government announced in July that access’ winter fuel payments would be restricted to people claiming pension credit, with the aim of saving £1.5 billion a year.
Of the 11.4 million pensioners previously eligible, only 1.5 million meet the new criteria.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly been accused of “picking a fight” with pensioners.
But he insists that the government needs to cut the payments, arguing its finances were left in bad shape by the Tories.
He said he had to prioritise delivering for the NHS, schools and other public services used by pensioners.
Last week, Ms Kendall responded to growing pressure over the decision by saying: “Means-testiing winter fuel payments was not a decision this government wanted or expected to take but blamed “the £22 billion black hole we inherited.”
Ms Kendall has declared Mr Ind’s job with Santander Asset Management UK on her register of ministerial interests, because it could potentially lead to a conflict of interest with her responsibility for pensions policy as his firm’s client base includes some local government pension schemes. Ms
Kendall, who was previously in an eight-year relationship with the comedian Greg Davies, announced in January 2022 that she was “bursting with love and happiness” after having a baby boy via surrogacy.
One of London’s most affluent areas, Notting Hill was once home to the so-called Notting Hill set of prominent Tories including David Cameron, George Osborne and Michael Gove.
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