Labour councillor defends winter fuel payment cuts and accuses opponents of 'fear mongering'

Opposition councillors in the city who attacked the Labour government's "cruel" decision to withdraw the winter fuel allowance for millions of people have been accused of 'grandstanding'

A Labour councillor has defended the Government’s decision to scrap the winter fuel allowance for millions of pensioners and accused opponents of “fear mongering”.

There has been a major backlash over recent weeks to Labour’s decision to make cuts to the scheme – meaning that around 10 million pensioners are expected to miss out on the payment, worth up to £300, this winter. Instead, only people who are in receipt of Pension Credit and some other benefits will continue to receive the allowance.

The “cruel” move was condemned by opposition councillors in Newcastle last week, with tens of thousands of older people in the city set to lose out. Amid a barrage of criticism at a full council meeting last Wednesday, Labour councillor Stephen Powers was the only member of the city’s ruling party to speak up in defence of the Government.

He told the council chamber that many pensioners are not in need of the extra support and had either donated it to charity or “put their money towards a holiday fund”.

Coun Powers, newly elected as Labour’s chief whip on the council, added: “Not every pensioner needed it. 27% of pensioners in this country who have combined income and assets of over £1 million – those pensioners did not need support. What the Labour government is committed to is ensuring that targeted support goes to those who are most vulnerable and most in need.

“If you want to have a sensible conversation about whether the baseline is low enough to make sure everyone gets supported, I would quite welcome that. We could have that conversation. But this blatant grandstanding and fear mongering to our pensioners does nobody a service.”

Lib Dem councillor Doreen Huddart warned that more than 37,000 pensioners in Newcastle are expected to miss out on the winter fuel payment this year because of the changes and called Labour “pathetic” for justifying the cuts by pointing to a “necessary focus on long-term economic stability”.

She said: “Please go and say that to the people in the old people’s centres we run, the luncheon clubs, etc, and talk to them about weakening of public finances and increased vulnerability to external economic shocks. They are now subject to your economic shocks. Do you think that cutting the winter fuel allowance is a good way for a Labour government to show that it values senior citizens?”

Independent councillor Marc Donnelly called the cut a “cruel, unnecessary decision and contrary to previous promises and commitments made prior to the election”. The Chapel ward representative, who took aim at Labour MPs over the ongoing row over freebies, added: “This whole fiasco is reckless and wrong and spells disaster for pensioners on low and modest incomes.”

Labour councillors voted to amend motions from the Lib Dems and Coun Donnelly criticising the winter fuel payment cuts, though they did commit to writing to Chancellor Rachel Reeves to express concern about the impact on Newcastle’s pensioner population. The council also resolved to launch a review of the programme to refit empty council properties in order to make them more energy efficient and to “explore additional ways in which our older and less able citizens can be supported to stay warm during the winter”, such as through the opening of warm spaces in the city.

Kenton councillor Stephen Lambert was the only other Labour member to speak during the debate, and repeated his calls for more eligible people to take up Pension Credit.

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