BBC Breakfast presenter Sally Nugent called out Labour’s party chair over the government’s divisive decision to reduce the number of winter fuel payments for pensioners this year.
In an effort to tighten the UK’s purse strings, Labour have decided to stop around 10 million people in England and Wales from receiving this extra allowance from the government.
The sum – worth between £100 and £300 – will now only go to those who receive pension credit, or who are on other means-tested benefits, depending on age and whether the person lives alone.
So on Tuesday morning, Nugent called minister Ellie Reeves out over the decision.
“This is a choice you have made,” the presenter said. “You have chosen that pensioners will suffer and chosen to put the money somewhere else.”
The party chair replied: “Well, pensioners who are in receipt of pension credit will still get the winter fuel allowances.”
But, she added: “It’s not a decision we wanted to take.
“It’s a decision we had to take to keep control of the country’s finances and avoid a return to what happened after that mini-Budget that crashed the economy because it included unfunded spending commitments.”
Liz Truss tried to unveil £45 billion of unfunded tax cuts with her disastrous mini-Budget of 2022 – she ended up being ousted from office as her plan sent the pound into free fall.
Reeves continued: “Pensioners will still get the triple lock on their pension, pensioners that receive pension credit will still get the winter fuel credit, we’ve got an ambitious programme to insulate the coldest homes.”
She added that while these are “tough choices,” that’s due to the “state the country has been left in after 14 years of Conservative government”.
But Nugent pushed: “Pensioners who might have been on £12,000 are going to lose out.
“They’re going to lose money. They’re going to need to find that money from somewhere else.
“Do you think £12,000 is enough money to manage on?”
Reeves reiterated that these are “tough choices”, and that Labour did not want to be in this position – but it was all down to Truss.
The minister said: “If we did nothing at all, the risk would be exactly the same as what happened after that mini-Budget of Liz Truss – the markets would crash, interest rates would go sky-rocketing again.
“People are still paying the price of that mini-Budget in their mortgage repayments.”
Reeves was asked about the same issue while on Sky News, as presenter Kay Burley questioned whether the cabinet was split over this contentious policy.
The party chair claimed all ministers were united in backing the decision.