Labour’s heartless decision to axe winter fuel payments

 will leave pensioners begging in shopping centres, campaigners have warned.

Ministers have admitted 86% of older people already living in poverty will lose their cold weather payments this winter.

The revelations have prompted widespread fury, with the Government accused of knowing it will leave those in dire need in a worse state.

Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, told the Daily Express: “These statistics reveal the extent of heartlessness towards older people shown so far by the Labour Government.

 

“Despite knowing that 1.4million pensioners are already in absolute poverty, the Government is sticking to its plan to remove the winter fuel payment from 1.2million of them.

“If you are in absolute poverty and £200-300 is removed from you at short notice, you have only three choices: malnutrition, hypothermia or begging.

“And many older people are already using food banks, warm banks and local authority hardship funds.

“Will the Chancellor be satisfied that she has saved the economy when 80-year-olds are begging in our shopping malls?”

Emma Reynolds, from the Department for Work and Pensions, told Conservative Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride that 1.4million older people are living in absolute poverty.

And just 200,000 are receiving pension credit, Ms Reynolds has admitted.

This means 86% – 1.2million people – will be worse off.

Mr Stride told the Daily Express: “We now know the vast majority of pensioners in poverty will see their winter fuel payment snatched from them this winter.

“No wonder Labour ministers were so reluctant to answer basic questions about the impact of this policy.

“They have tried to claim those who really need support will still get it – they knew that was not true.

“They should have provided all of this information upfront before Parliament debated this and before recess, but instead we had to force it out of them.

“It’s now clear why they rushed this measure through so hastily – they knew it would not stand up to scrutiny.”

Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “Every day we are hit by more revelations about the suffering that is being inflicted on older people by Rachel Reeves’ cut to the winter fuel payments.

“There is no one who can’t see the problems associated with this policy apart from the Chancellor.

“Ministers have tried to reassure the public that those who are in most need will still get the help they need, but that’s just not true.

“Last week, we learned that hundreds of thousands of disabled pensioners will miss out, now we find out that those in the direst of financial conditions will also be hit by the cut.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has insisted axing winter fuel payments will save £1.5billion.

This will help plug a £22billion black hole, Ms Reeves has argued.

Only retirees who receive pension credit or other means-tested benefits will receive payments this year.

The Express crusade to save the payment has been supported by MPs from across the House of Commons.

About 780,000 pensioners who need the winter fuel payment will lose out on it when Labour begins means-testing the benefit, according to the Government’s own equality analysis.

Meanwhile an estimated 71% of the 1.6million disabled people who received winter fuel payments will be hit, documents snuck out last Friday evening revealed.

But Ms Reeves was yesterday urged to utilise a £10billion budget boost to reverse plans to cut winter fuel payments.

The Chancellor’s room for manoeuvre has been increased by a Bank of England decision to slow the pace of its quantitative tightening programme, reducing losses to the Treasury from bond sales.

Labour MP Rachel Maskell added: “With the additional fiscal headroom identified, it is so important that a small proportion is used on a delay to the winter fuel payments to protect those who are fuel poor this winter. Older people should not be cold this winter, or ever.”

Ms Reeves is considering increases to capital gains tax and inheritance tax while eyeing some pensions tax breaks. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer

 refused again to rule out scrapping the single person’s council tax discount, even while saying he did not want to put “the fear of God” into people living alone.

But the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned Ms Reeves could stifle economic growth if she imposes too many tax hikes.

Isaac Delestre, research economist at the IFS, said: “With large swathes of the tax system seemingly off-limits due to Labour’s manifesto commitments, the Chancellor is going into this year’s Budget with one hand tied behind her back.

“There will be a temptation to increase revenues in ways that would be economically damaging.

“Stamp duty deserves a special mention as a tax that should not be increased.

“But Rachel Reeves also has the power to fix some of the more glaring deficiencies of our tax system: taxes on pensions, capital gains and inheritances (to name just three) are all crying out for reform.

“If she takes the opportunity to improve taxes, as well as increase them, she could be rewarded not only with more revenue but also with a tax system that is fairer and less of an impediment to growth.”

 

A Government spokesman said: “We are committed supporting pensioners – with over 12million set to see their state pension rise by £1,700 this parliament through our commitment to the triple lock.

“Given the dire state of the public finances we have inherited, we have had to take difficult decisions. We will continue to support households with many benefiting from the £150 Warm Home Discount.

“And we are extending the Household Support Fund with £421million, to ensure local authorities can support vulnerable people and families.”