A Labour MP was lambasted last night over ‘abhorrent’ claims pensioners losing their winter fuel allowance have a ‘choice’ whether to put the heating on.
Newly elected Crawley MP Peter Lamb said anyone who needs the payment to afford heating will still get it as he defended axing the subsidy.
Yet campaigners said millions of pensioners will struggle this winter without the subsidy, which is worth up to £300 on energy bills.
Mr Lamb joined Labour MPs in voting to axe the payment for all but the country’s poorest pensioners earlier this week – rejecting a Tory bid to block the policy.
Defending his decision amid criticism it would let ‘old people go cold’, he tweeted: ‘If people choose not to put the heating on after several above-inflation increases in the state pension then that’s their choice.’
Last night Keir Starmer dismissed Labour’s 2017 research that predicted cutting the allowance for 10million pensioners would increase excess deaths by 3,850
Campaigners said millions of pensioners will struggle this winter without the subsidy (stock image)
He added: ‘Anyone who genuinely needs the payment to afford it will still get it. Overall, pensioners will benefit more from NHS capacity than extra cash.’
His comments sparked a backlash last night, including from his party colleagues. One Labour MP told the Mail: ‘I find those kinds of comments abhorrent – placing a judgment over some very frail and elderly people. He should take it down and apologise.’
Tory work and pensions spokesman Mel Stride said Labour MPs ‘don’t understand the misery they will cause’, adding: ‘According to their own research, thousands of pensioners will die without their winter fuel payments. They must change course now.’
And Dame Priti Patel, the former home secretary, said pensioners would be ‘sickened’ to hear Mr Lamb’s remarks. ‘These out-of-touch Labour MPs should be ashamed of themselves,’ she added. Last night, after being approached by the Mail, Mr Lamb apologised.
He said: ‘I’d like to apologise for a comment I made on X earlier this week regarding the changes to winter fuel payments. It was never my intention to cause offence, and in hindsight my comments were clearly misjudged.
‘It is my absolute priority to support the most vulnerable in our community, and pensioners in my constituency can be reassured I’ll be doing everything I can to support them during the winter.’
Newly elected Crawley MP Peter Lamb said anyone who needs the payment to afford heating will still get it as he defended axing the subsidy
A Labour MP was lambasted last night over ‘abhorrent’ claims pensioners losing their winter fuel allowance have a ‘choice’ whether to put the heating on (stock image)
The fuel subsidy will now be means-tested so only those in England and Wales on pension credit or certain other benefits will receive the payments in a bid to cut costs.
Former pensions minister Baroness Ros Altmann, who this week tried to block the move in the Lords, said: ‘The narrative that all pensioners have done really well is only true about those who are better off – it’s not true about the poorest at all.’
Last night Keir Starmer dismissed Labour’s 2017 research that predicted cutting the allowance for 10million pensioners would increase excess deaths by 3,850. Asked if he stood by the report, he said: ‘No, it’s a different assessment, different context.’
He added: ‘I’m not pretending this is an easy decision, it’s a difficult decision.’