The change Keir Starmer promised Britain begins in earnest on Monday when Parliament returns – and the PM has set himself a hefty agenda.
Work starts on nationalising rail and ending no-fault evictions, fire-and-rehire and zero-hours contracts. And the creation of Great British Energy will mean cleaner and cheaper electricity. We welcome these moves. But the government is facing growing opposition to its plan to stop winter fuel payments to 10 million pensioners.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves needs a fast £1.4billion to help plug the financial chasm, recklessly left by the Tories and this is one of the few ways of finding it quickly. She is urging 800,000 people entitled to pension credit, but not claiming it, to apply now so they can keep the winter allowance.
Insulting
But with the £149 jump to £1,717 in average energy prices, Age UK says at least two million poorer pensioners at the margins will have to choose between heating and eating this winter. Mr Starmer’s change agenda must include how we look after older people, as the present system is rooted in the past.
Our pensions are some of the lowest in Europe. They include an insulting 25p a week uplift at 80. This meant something when introduced in 1971 and pensions were £6 a week. Yet even this paltry sum costs £40million a year. In the Fifties, average life expectancy was 69. It is now 82 and one in three men and one in four women over 66 are doing paid work.
Just as the economics of ageing are changing, so must our support for older people to make it fairer. The Chancellor could start by keeping the winter payment AND save money by rolling it into the state pension. That way, poorer pensioners would not go cold – and wealthier ones who need it less would pay much of it back in tax.
Tackling risks
Children should not be wrapped in cotton wool. But the risks from contact sports such as rugby should not be ignored. Calls for restrictions on tackling are growing after the death of a US teen who suffered a brain injury playing American football.
Campaigners say youngsters can still learn the skills of rugby without the need for full contact. The game’s governing bodies must now hold an urgent review to examine what changes might make the sport safer.
Utterly Cleoless
One in 10 Brits don’t know the difference between Boudicca and Cleopatra. Boo was a Celtic warrior queen who brought terror to the Romans. Egyptian ruler Cleo made Romans fall in love with her because of her legendary beauty. At least, that’s how Julius Caesar…