Following a government reversal on winter fuel payments, Labour MPs are intensifying their calls for a rollback of planned benefit cuts.
Backbenchers largely welcomed the announcement extending eligibility for the £300 energy bill support to pensioners in England and Wales with annual incomes up to £35,000.
They expressed gratitude for the government’s responsiveness, asserting that means-testing was equitable, but the previous threshold – excluding many pensioners – was inappropriately low.
However, several urged reconsideration of planned disability payment reductions, while others advocated for the repeal of the two-child benefit cap.
Proposed benefit system changes would make claiming Personal Independence Payments (PIPs) more difficult for individuals with less severe conditions, despite government pledges for increased employment support.
The two-child benefit cap restricts means-tested benefits for families with more than two children born after April 2017, a policy criticized for exacerbating poverty.
A decision on lifting this cap is anticipated this autumn, coinciding with the release of a child poverty strategy.
Labour backbench pressure on these issues, and winter fuel payments, has intensified since the party’s disappointing May local election results.
Initially, the winter fuel payment was universal for pensioners, but last year’s restriction to pension credit or other means-tested benefit recipients in England and Wales sparked controversy.
The original cut, projected to save £1.7bn, was justified by the government on grounds of fiscal responsibility.
However, this measure, affecting over 10 million pensioners in 2024, faced widespread criticism from charities, unions, opposition parties, and numerous Labour MPs.
Following mounting pressure, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced a policy reversal last month, with details released on Monday.
The chancellor stated that funding for the £1.25bn policy will be outlined in the autumn Budget.
Imran Hussain, among other Labour MPs, urged the government to scrap planned benefit cuts in response to a Commons statement on winter fuel payments.
“Given the government’s responsiveness, I urge them to heed calls to scrap the devastating planned cuts to disability support,” stated the Bradford East MP.
Fellow Labour MPs Nadia Whittome and Richard Burgon also welcomed the winter fuel U-turn but pressed for government consideration of backbench concerns regarding benefit cuts.
In response, Torsten Bell, Treasury and pensions minister, emphasized the need for “a better system focusing on supporting those who can work into work”.
He added that the current situation—with 1,000 daily PIP applications—is “unsustainable”.
Labour MP Rachael Maskell, a prominent campaigner for restored winter fuel payments, hailed the government’s policy change as “long overdue”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s World at One, she described the £35,000 income threshold as “reasonable”.
However, Maskell advocated for a higher payment given recent energy price increases, and urged reconsideration of planned benefit cuts, stating: “Robbing disabled people to pay older people is illogical.”
She joined other MPs in reiterating calls for the repeal of the two-child benefit cap.
In the Commons, Rebecca Long Bailey, Labour MP for Salford, sought reassurances from ministers regarding “expediting plans to lift the two-child cap on universal credit” to alleviate child poverty.
Bell responded that “all levers to reduce child poverty are on the table”.
He added: “This is crucial; a significant portion of large families live in poverty.”
The Conservatives have urged a government apology to pensioners who missed out on winter fuel payments last year.
Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately described the U-turn as “the most humiliating climbdown in a government’s first year”.
She highlighted the “unfunded” nature of the reversal in the Commons, warning of potential tax increases.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey stated: “The chancellor finally acknowledged the disastrous nature of this policy, but the suffering it caused is undeniable.”
“Countless pensioners faced impossible choices while the government remained unresponsive to genuine hardship.”
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