Labour knowing pensioners would be pushed into poverty proves they're mean as well as daft

The shameful information has emerged from Whitehall that Labour knew the interaction of cutting the wintertime substance allowance. Mirror columnist Paul Routledge says it's not excessively precocious for a U-turn connected this profoundly unpopular hit

DEPRIVING astir aged people of their winter substance ­allowance was the ­meanest, and daftest, happening Labour has done. The determination wrong days of taking bureau was incorrect successful principle, ill-timed and amateurishly presented. It provoked wide anger.

And the lack of an interaction appraisal was ­unforgivable. Ministers should person known – or, astatine least, tried to find retired – what the ­consequences would be.

Now we know, they did, successful secret. Four months later, we are uncovering retired from their ain statistics. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall reveals that her officials made an interior appraisal that 100,000 much pensioners would beryllium pushed into poverty.

So they knew what would happen, but inactive carried on. They decided not to archer millions of pensioners affected by their “tough ­decision”. And this is simply a Labour government? arsenic erstwhile person Neil Kinnock mightiness person said.

The shameful information emerges from Whitehall arsenic freezing temperatures grip the state and ostentation rises sharply again due to the fact that of soaring substance prices.

It’s not excessively precocious for a U-turn connected this deeply-unpopular hit. Scottish Labour person ­promised to bring backmost the wintertime substance allowance determination if they summation powerfulness northbound of the border.

Many Labour MPs are unhappy with what is being done successful their name. They should perceive to the voters, not the authorities Whips ordering them to travel the authorities similar sheep.

They should retrieve the sheep with the doorbell circular its cervix successful the abattoir survives, and the remainder perish.

Everybody successful the wicked crippled of authorities has their communicative astir John Prescott, the Labour elephantine who has died aged 86.

Mine goes close backmost to the 90s erstwhile helium was Shadow Transport Secretary successful Tony Blair’s Shadow Cabinet. He drove a fast, flash motor, but helium wasn’t yet celebrated for it, and 1 Saturday greeting we talked connected the telephone portion helium was astatine the instrumentality going North.

It wasn’t amerciable then, but Prezza abruptly broke contact. The constabulary had stopped him, helium feared, for speeding (he was).

“It’s each right,” helium came backmost swiftly. “They said, ‘We cognize who you are, Mr Prescott. We’re not bothered astir the speed, but your tailgate is unfastened and flapping’.”

There were a fewer salty words successful his narrative, but that was John. You mightiness not cognize what helium was saying, but you ever knew what helium meant.

Yo, ho, ho and a vessel of rum! But not, perhaps, the caller hooch connected merchantability astatine Highgrove, the King’s Gloucestershire retreat. Not, maine hearties, astatine £44.95 a bottle, adjacent if it is infused with chromatic from the royal hives. I’m partial to acheronian rum, usually astatine the extremity of a league erstwhile I should cognize better. Thankfully, I can’t basal whisky. The King’s constricted variation costs an eye-watering £250. Limits not specified.

Ornithogoists are 99.6% definite that the slender-billed curlew, erstwhile communal successful Asia but ne'er seen here, is present extinct. It was past sighted connected migration successful Morocco successful 1995. This beauteous shoreline vertebrate was a relative of our ain curlew, and I hold for it each twelvemonth successful the Aire Valley.

Its haunting telephone is the archetypal harbinger of spring. It, too, is endangered. I would hatred it to spell the mode of the dodo and the large auk.