Fury as MPs keep heating benefit while millions of pensioners will lose winter fuel payments

A CABINET Minister faced the wrath of voters implicit Winter Fuel cuts past nighttime - including wherefore MPs tin inactive assertion connected heating bills portion pensioners are losing out.

Commons Leader Lucy Powell was forced to support Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ determination to axe the £200-£300 payments for 10million OAPs.

On BBC Question Time 1 assemblage subordinate challenged the Labour frontbencher to region MPs’ heating allowance and usage the currency to help struggling pensioners. 

To assemblage applause she vented: “How bash you warrant withdrawing the payment from pensioners?”

Most MPs tin disbursal heating and inferior bills astatine a azygous spot - either their constituency location oregon London residence - to halt them forking retired for 2 addresses.

The lone objection is MPs who correspond a spot successful the capital, oregon person the tally of a grace-and-favour spot similar Downing Street.

Ms Powell replied: “Obviously we wage heating successful our homes similar everybody else, and we’ve seen those costs going up and up and up successful caller years with ostentation and vigor costs going up.

“There’s nary denying this is simply a precise hard happening to bash and it volition beryllium hard for people. It’s not thing we came into authorities wanting to bash astatine all.”

But Tory MP Graham Stuart deed back: “It’s taking £300 distant from the precise poorest pensioners.

“The precise poorest pensioners are not the pensioners connected pension credit, precise debased income though they’ve got, it’s the radical that are eligible for it - but that for 1 crushed oregon another, don’t claim.”

Means-testing Winter Fuel Payments is expected to prevention astir £1.5billion a twelvemonth according to the Treasury.

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to u-turn despite a Labour rebellion, and warned of much “tough decisions” astatine adjacent month’s Budget.

Campaigners person warned that pensioners earning conscionable supra the means-tested headdress will earnestly conflict this wintertime when their cold-weather currency is axed. 

Ms Reeves is besides lasting steadfast contempt a reported £10billion windfall from the Bank of England selling loss-making bonds little quickly.