Keir Starmer has spoken a lot about “tough decisions” since becoming chancellor this summer. Some of his MPs were soon forced to make tough decisions in the vote on the two-child benefit cap: Seven Labour MPs who rebelled against party line and voted to lift the cap were stripped of their party mandate.
Then the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, announced another controversial “tough decision” to scrap the Winter Fuel Allowance, which is paid to all pensioners to help with heating bills. Peter Walker He says he had little doubt how much anxiety MPs caused struggling pensioners when they returned to their constituencies in the summer.
It triggered a tense vote in Congress. Helen Pidd I tagged along to see how the day unfolded. First, she spoke to the MP Rachel Maskell, who explained that in her central York constituency, older people are so upset about potentially losing their benefits that they “are stopping me in the street, grabbing me by the arm and saying, 'Please help me, it's my lifeline'”.
She listened to the passionate debate and also spoke to Charlotte Nicholls, the MP for Warrington North. Ms Nicholls said she was concerned about abolishing universal health insurance but understood it was unfair that wealthier pensioners were getting extra money to pay for their heating. She also believed an increase in the state pension would make up for the lost benefits of many pensioners and said she would vote in favour of the motion.
But after the vote passed – 52 Labour MPs abstained and only one voted against the government – Peter told Helen that the policy could still cause problems for the party, with one MP telling Helen that he felt sick thinking about how the policy would affect the most vulnerable people.
Picture: Peter Byrne/PA
