Labour’s decision to snatch Winter Fuel Payments from millions of vulnerable pensioners is a downright disgrace.
Our pensioners have worked hard throughout their lives, contributed to our economy and our country, and paid their taxes. In return, they deserve security and dignity in retirement and a fair deal from the state.
That is why in government the Conservatives introduced the state pension triple lock and maintained the Winter Fuel Payment as a universal benefit for all pensioners.
So for Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves to turn around in the first month of this new Labour government and bring the hammer down on Winter Fuel Payments is a slap in the face for so many.
Before the election Labour said they had no plans to do this. It has taken them no time at all to show their true colours.
With the winter fast approaching millions will now suddenly be left in limbo, scrambling to see how they will make ends meet in the face of potential energy bill rises and the financial burden of Labour’s Retirement Tax plans looming.
There is no doubt in my mind that this was a blatantly political decision.
Rachel Reeves has spent her time in office so far peddling mistruths about the economy and the public finances in order to try and justify the tax agenda she has planned all along.
Despite pledging over 50 times during the election campaign not to raise taxes, Labour has an economic agenda they don’t have the courage to reveal, and so are doing everything possible to try and hoodwink the British public into accepting that raising taxing, slashing pensioner benefits and cancelling infrastructure projects is a necessity. In reality, they are making an active choice to do this.
We’ve seen in the last few weeks that the Chancellor is all too happy to put the boot to pensioners at the very same time as handing striking unions inflation-busting multi-billion pound pay rises, with no benefits for taxpayers in terms of service improvements or better productivity in return.
In the face of this it is even more clear this was never about her fabricated blackhole in the public finances. Labour are instead making a political choice, prioritising rewarding their union paymasters after they donated millions to fund their campaign over the needs of vulnerable pensioners.
The Conservatives will not sit idly by and let such decisions go unchallenged.
We have a proud history as a party of always standing up for pensioners, in government and in opposition.
We will continue that effort every day of this new parliament on behalf of the millions of pensioners who will bear the cost of this great injustice.
