Sunak accuses Starmer of 'hiding' impact of winter fuel payments cut

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of "hiding" the impact of the cut to the winter fuel payment, which will see millions of pensioners lose out on up to £300 towards heating their homes this winter.

Changes voted through on Tuesday mean that the payment will now be means-tested, removing the allowance from millions of pensioners.

Former prime minister Rishi Sunak pressed the Labour leader on his plans to scrap the policy during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, accusing him of "hiding" the impact of the changes.

He highlighted Labour research from 2017 which claimed Conservative plans to scrap the winter fuel payment for better-off pensioners could lead to almost 4,000 additional deaths over winter.

He urged Starmer to publish the impact assessment for means-tested winter fuel payments.

The outgoing Tory leader said: “We know why he’s hiding the impact assessment. The Labour Party’s own previous analysis claimed that this policy could cause 3,850 deaths.

“So, are the numbers in his impact assessment higher or lower than that?”

Starmer replied: “We’re taking this decision to stabilise the economy. That means we can commit to the triple lock.

“By committing to the triple lock we can make sure that payments of state pension are higher and therefore there’s more money in the pockets of pensioners, not withstanding the tough action we need to take.

“But he goes around pretending that everything is fine. That’s the argument he tried in the election and that’s why he’s sitting there and we are sitting here.”

Sunak hit back: “Today pensioners watching will have seen that the Prime Minister has repeatedly refused to admit or publish the consequences of his decision and we will continue holding him to account for that.”

People in England and Wales not in receipt of pension credit or other means-tested benefits will lose out under the Government’s changes to winter fuel payments.It is expected to reduce the number of pensioners in receipt of the up to £300 payment by ten million, from 11.4 million to 1.5 million, saving more than £1 billion this year.

Starmer hit back at Sunak's accusations, referring again to a £22bn "black" hole in finances.

"Before he complains about us clearing up his mess, perhaps he’d like to apologise for the £22 billion black hole," he said.

Starmer said that he had been forced to make these "tough" decisions because of how the Tories left the finances.

He said increases in pensions “will outstrip any loss of payment” as a result of the triple lock, which guarantees the state pension will rise by inflation, average wage growth or 2.5%.

The full state pension is set to rise by £460 from next April, according to official wage figures released this week.

A total of 348 MPs voted against a motion on Tuesday, urging the government to delay implementing cuts for around 10 million pensioners.

228 MPs voted in favour of the motion, with one Labour backbencher, Jon Trickett, opposing the government.

Some 53 MPs, including seven ministers, had no vote recorded, which does not necessarily mean that an MP actively chose to abstain - for example, some may be unable to attend due to other commitments.It is understood some of the 53 MPs had been "slipped", meaning they were given permission not to attend.However, 15 of the Labour MPs who signed a motion which called on the government to delay implementing the cut were among those on the 'no vote' list.Of the seven former Labour backbenchers who lost the whip after defying the government over the two-child benefit cap earlier this year, five - Apsana Begum, Zarah Sultana, John McDonnell, Ian Byrne and Richard Burgon - voted with the opposition.

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