Delegates at the Labour Party conference have backed a motion calling for the government to reverse its decision to means test the winter fuel payment.
Around ten million pensioners will lose their entitlement to the benefit after the allowance was restricted to those receiving pensions credit.
However, the cut has proved controversial among some, with concerns about the impact it could have on pensioners on low incomes this winter.
The motion also called for an end to fiscal rules, the introduction of a wealth tax on the top one percent, an excess profits tax and to equalise capital gains tax with income tax.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, condemned the government’s decision to cut the winter fuel allowance and instead called for a wealth tax, with both included in Unite’s motion.
In her speech to the conference floor, she praised the 1945 Labour government for how they transformed the country and did not resort to austerity, despite a tough legacy following the Second World War.
She said: “The decision to keep fiscal rules is hanging like a noose around our necks.
“I do not understand how the Labour government can cut the winter fuel allowance – it needs to be reversed.”
However, Maggie Cosin of Dover and Deal CLP said that pensioners like her do not need the £200 payment and said: “It’s not about taking it away from pensioners, but it is about giving it to others.”
Ellie Emberston, a Unite member, also spoke to oppose the motion from her own union and said: “Unless we stabilise the economy, we cannot invest in the public services we love.”
Protesters, including Graham, gathered outside the conference hall earlier in the day to demand that the cut to the winter fuel allowance be ditched.
Today at @UKLabour Conference
📢📢 Save the #WinterFuelPayment @unitetheunion @UniteEconomy #LabourConference24 pic.twitter.com/gsLoZEFHpr
— Sharon Graham (@UniteSharon) September 25, 2024
There was some disagreement in the hall over the decision not to go to a card vote, but the chair of conference said the advice given to her was that the vote was carried.
The vote in favour of the motion is unlikely to shake the government’s commitment to means testing the winter fuel allowance, with the Prime Minister Keir Starmer stressing the importance of taking tough decisions now to get to the “light at the end of the tunnel” sooner.
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