Keir Starmer needs to re-examine his conscience about winter fuel allowance cuts

Keir Starmer is right that the winter fuel allowance should not be paid to all pensioners, but needs to think again about the method of means-testing it (Picture: House of Commons/UK Parliament) | PA

As freezing weather arrived in Scotland, Ofgem announced that the cap on household energy bills was set to rise again from January. For some, there will be a growing sense of dread about the choices they will face this winter, including between ‘heating or eating’.

Fuel poverty is a very real problem and, every year, thousands of people across the UK lose their lives because of it. According to campaign group End Fuel Poverty Coalition, it is estimated that there were 4,950 excess winter deaths caused by living in cold homes during the winter of 2022/23.

This year, however, the problem may be even worse, because of the UK Government’s decision to means-test the winter fuel allowance for pensioners. Defending the decision, Keir Starmer rightly said it did not make sense to pay this benefit to all pensioners, including “many who don't need it because they're relatively wealthy”, 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”.

We agree that maintaining universal benefits when public services are falling apart makes little sense. However, the way Labour decided to means-test the winter fuel allowance – by linking it to pension credit – is hugely problematic.

As Independent Age pointed out, nearly a million elderly people in the UK who are eligible for pension credit do not claim it and will therefore miss out. The charity added that it was also worried about older people who “live just above the pension credit threshold, sometimes by just a few pounds”.

It is unlikely that Labour will U-turn on this policy entirely, and nor should they. However, they clearly need to do more to help the poorest pensioners heat their homes, whether by setting up a hardship fund to which people could apply or by some other means.

We already know that some pensioners will die because of the cold this winter. As temperatures fall, Starmer and co need to re-examine their consciences and think again.