Starmer insists he has no secret report on affect of winter gas cost cuts

Keir Starmer insisted last night (THU) there is no secret report “on my desk” on the impact of cutting winter fuel payments for millions of OAPs.

The PM’s remarks came after No10 admitted no specific impact assessment had been carried out on removing the £300 payment for pensioners. Caretaker Tory leader Rishi Sunak had accused Mr Starmer of “hiding” an internal government analysis on the impact of the controversial cut.

But speaking to reporters last night, the PM insisted: “I know you think there’s a report on my desk which somehow we’re not showing you. There isn’t a report on my desk I’m not showing you, it’s as simple as that.”

Instead, the PM claimed the impact of the cut will be mitigated by pension credit, which is available to the very poorest pensioners. Earlier this week Mr Starmer – who has admitted the cut is unpopular – won a vote to push ahead with the plan to scrap the payments for millions of pensioners.

But he suffered a revolt in the Commons, with one Labour MP voting against the government and a dozen abstaining without authorisation from No10. Charity Age UK, which warned some 2.5million pensioners on low incomes could miss out as a result of the changes, called the vote “deeply disappointing”.

Charity director Caroline Abrahams said this week: “The reality is that driving through this policy as the Government is doing will make millions of poor pensioners poorer still and we are baffled as to why some Ministers are asserting that this is the right thing to do.”
In the summer Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the support would now be restricted to just OAPs on pension credit or other benefits.

She said she was left with no other option after finding a £22billion black hole in the public finances left by the Tories.