Sir Keir Starmer has said it “makes sense to make the change” to winter fuel payments, but there were decisions made in the Budget which he would have preferred “not to have had to make”.
The Prime Minister spoke to a number of BBC local radio stations on Friday as part of a broadcast round, and was asked by several presenters about the changes to the benefit.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves limited access to the benefit, worth up to £300, in a cost-saving measure, as she sought to repair the nation’s finances.
The payment is being restricted to only those claiming pension credit from this winter, with the aim of saving the public purse £1.5 billion a year.
But when you inherit a broken economy, when you then find out there was £22 billion which doesn’t appear on the books, and you’d need to balance the books, very, very difficult decisions have to be made
Sir Keir told BBC Radio Merseyside that the Government is operating with a “really, really, difficult, tight budget”.
When asked about warnings that more pensioners may go into poverty as a result of making the benefit means tested, Sir Keir said: “Without the change that we’re putting in place at the moment, the allowance goes to everyone, whether they need it or not, and therefore there are many who don’t need it because they’re relatively wealthy.
“And I think most people would say that doesn’t make sense, when you’ve got a really, really, difficult, tight budget – we’ve got to deliver for our NHS, for our schools, we’ve got to make sure that we’ve got public services that people can rely on, including, of course, pensioners.
“So it makes sense to make the change.”
He also said it is “important to protect pensioners who most need the allowance” and urged people who are eligible for pension credit to take it up.
Earlier this week it was estimated that the squeeze would force 100,000 pensioners into poverty by 2026.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall disclosed the Government’s assessment of the impact in a letter to MPs, but said the figures did not take into account plans to increase the numbers of people on pension credit.
Ms Kendall said the Labour Government had been “forced” to limit the payment because of the “£22 billion black hole” it blamed the Conservatives for leaving behind.
Sir Keir was asked by BBC Radio WM whether the changes to winter fuel allowance are a decision that he would come to regret.
He said: “There are lots of decisions we had to make in the Budget which, to be perfectly honest, I’d have preferred not to have had to make.
“But when you inherit a broken economy, when you then find out there was £22 billion which doesn’t appear on the books, and you’d need to balance the books, very, very difficult decisions have to be made.”
He said that the Government is “making sure that those entitled to pension credit are protected through this”, and added: “There are a number of people who are entitled to pension credit who aren’t claiming it, and it’s very important that they take up that entitlement.”
