Damning Labour report claims winter fuel raid could kill nearly 4,000 pensioners

A damning report published in 2017, when Keir Starmer was in the shadow cabinet, claimed that restricting the allowance to pensioners on benefits would cost thousands of lives.

Ministers are set to debate the policy on Tuesday, with some 40 MPs expected to abstain and a small number to vote against plans to means-test the support this winter.

Labour said plans to limit the winter fuel payment to those in receipt of pension credit will help plug a £22bn fiscal black hole left by the Conservatives. Health secretary, Wes Streeting, said on Sunday that he was “not remotely happy” about axing the allowance, worth up to £300.

Speaking on Sky News, he said: “I think it is a tough choice and we’ve had plenty of political criticism for it, I think, which demonstrates the political pain of it.
“I’m not remotely happy about it, and I’m not remotely happy about having to say to some of my constituents, ‘I’m sorry that I’m going into work this week to vote for something that will take money away from you’.”

Mr Streeting added: “We didn’t come into government determined to take away people’s winter fuel allowances. That’s not the primary motivation here. The motivation is to balance the books.”