Starmer faces winter fuel raid revolt from unions at party conference! B
Fresh opposition expected with vote on decision to scrap payments for millions of pensioners
Sir Keir Starmer faces a fresh revolt over Labour’s winter fuel raid as trade unions are set to force a vote on the policy at the party’s annual conference.
A motion urging the Government to reverse the decision to scrap the payments for millions of pensioners is expected to be put to the floor on Monday afternoon.
Union sources have told The Telegraph that they have agreed to push for a vote on the economy at the four-day conference in Liverpool, which will include a reference to the winter fuel cut.
The exact wording of the motion is set to be decided on Sunday night, but it will almost certainly include explicit opposition to the policy.
It will be an embarrassment for Downing Street if it passes, meaning that the Labour conference has officially opposed the decision to scale back the payments.
The winter fuel allowance is worth up to £300 per year. For more than a decade, it has been given to all pensioners, but the new Labour Government announced in July that it would be restricted to those on certain means-tested benefits.
The vote is being pushed by Unite, one of Labour’s biggest donor unions. It has been heavily critical of the plan to axe the universal payments, with Sharon Graham, Unite’s general secretary, describing it as a “misstep” from the Prime Minister.
The union has drawn up a motion calling on the Government to reverse “all cuts to the winter fuel allowance” in the Budget on Oct 30.
The wording will be debated with other unions on Sunday night, with a final version expected to be put to conference on Monday.
The Unite motion also urges Labour to impose a wealth tax on the top 1 per cent of earners and equalise capital gains tax with income tax, while delivering “the investment necessary for a workers’ transition to net zero”.
It states: “On Aug 27, the PM warned voters to ‘accept short-term pain for long-term good’. Britain cannot wait for growth, nor turn back to failed austerity.
“We need a vision where pensioners are not the first to face a new wave of cuts and those that profited from decades of deregulation finally help to rebuild Britain.”
Speaking on the Sky News programme Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips on the opening day of the conference in Liverpool, Ms Graham said: “I think the priority that I’d like to hear from him is that he’s going to reverse the decision on the winter fuel allowance. It’s a cruel policy.
“He needs to reverse it. And I’d like him to say that he’s made a misstep and to reverse that policy. I’d also like him to say that we’re not going to take this country down austerity mark two. People voted for change. They need to see change.”
The winter fuel motion threatens to inflict a fresh blow on the Prime Minister after more than 50 of his own MPs failed to back the policy at a crunch vote in Westminster earlier this month.
The Trades Union Congress also demanded that Sir Keir restore the payments at its annual conference in Brighton last week.
It is one of several thorny issues that are likely to cause a headache for the Prime Minister at his first Labour conference since winning the keys to No 10.
Ministers will also face questions about the decision not to scrap the two-child benefit cap, which dismayed many Left-wing MPs, and the Government’s stance on Gaza.
Some Labour supporters want Sir Keir to go further and ban all arms sales to Israel, after David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, suspended some export licences earlier this month.
