Winter fuel allowance cuts are passed in parliament
We should not allow the government to get away with the "abhorrent political choice" in cutting the winter fuel allowance, PCS General Secretary Fran Heathcote says as MPs have voted in support of the government's cuts to the allowance
MPs voted overhwelming in support of the cut - 348 to 228 - with 53 abstaining despite overwhelming evidence to support the continuation of payment and amidst growing pressure from charities and trade unions. MPs voting to stop the payment will lead to millions of pensioners facing financial insecurity going into the winter months.
Over the weekend prime minister Keir Starmer stated that he didn't mind becoming unpopular, highlighting that 'difficult decisions' would have to be made in order to fill the financial black hole which had been left by the previous administration. Speaking at TUC Congress in Brighton today (10) the PM continued in this vein, suggesting that decisions on public sector pay awards and investment in services would mean further difficult choices would have to be made to fund them.
PCS General Secretary Fran Heathcote said in response to the vote: "Plunging vulnerable pensioners into poverty should not be the financial sticking plaster for this Labour government. The figures show that any supposed savings on these cuts are infinitesimal in comparison to the money which could be generated should the Treasury adopt a progressive taxation system which means those who can carry a heavier burden, ie the 1%, do. We should not allow this government to get away with this abhorrent political choice, hence why PCS will bring this to the floor of TUC Congress tomorrow."
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