Sir Keir Starmer is facing humiliation at Labour ‘s conference as trade unions move to reverse the Government’s cuts to pensioners’ winter fuel payments

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in July that she would scrap winter fuel payments for around 10m pensioners as she blamed a £22bn ‘black hole’ in the public finances

Unite and the Communication Workers Union have put forward proposals calling for the policy to be scrapped at Labour’s gathering in Liverpool

It would compound a miserable start to Sir Keir’s first party conference as PM, which has already been dogged by a continuing row over donations

Labour MP Rachael Maskell said she was ‘sickened’ by the revelations over Sir Keir’s donations from millionaire Lord Waheed Alli

The Labour peer, who was handed a No10 security pass shortly after Labour’s election victory, has donated thousands of pounds’ worth of clothes and glasses to the PM.

Lord Alli has also provided high-end clothing to Sir Keir’s wife, Victoria, and allowed Deputy PM Angela Rayner to stay in his plush New York flat while on holiday.

Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central, said: ‘I have been sickened by revelations of ‘donations’.

‘It grates against the values of the Labour Party, created to fight for the needs of others, not self.

‘Meanwhile pensioners are having their winter fuel payments taken, risking going cold. I trust conference votes to change this.’

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in July that she would scrap winter fuel payments for around 10 million pensioners.

She defended the move as necessary due to what she claimed was a £22billion ‘black hole’ in the public finances she had inherited from the Tories.

But there has been continuing anger at the Chancellor’s move after Labour splurged on a series of bumper pay deals for public sector workers, including train drivers.

Previously winter fuel payments were universal for all pensioners in England and Wales, but they will now only be available for those on means-tested benefits.

Charities have warned that millions of pensioners will stuggle to stay warm this winter as a result of Labour’s action.

The exact wording of the motion Labour conference delegates will vote on is set to be thrashed out on Sunday night.

But Unite and the CWU have put forward proposals calling for the policy to be scrapped.

Unite has already unveiled billboards around Liverpool with the slogan ‘Defend the winter fuel payment’ ahead of their planned protest tomorrow.

Both the Unite and CWU motions include calls for the winter fuel payments to be restored to all pensioners, but address wider economic policy as well.

Unite’s motion calls for a wealth tax on the richest 1 per cent of people and other changes to the tax regime that the Government has so far been keen to avoid.

The motion said: ‘Britain cannot wait for growth, nor turn back to failed austerity.

‘We need a vision where pensioners are not the first to face a new wave of cuts and those that profited from decades of deregulation finally help to rebuild Britain.’

Ms Graham said: ‘The Government’s winter fuel policy needs to be reversed.

‘Targeting everyday people without much money is not a tough choice – it is a mistake.

‘There is no reason why we have to choose between paying workers and keeping pensioners warm.’

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson this morning admitted it had been a difficult decision for the Government to cut winter fuel payments.

She told Sky News: ‘I take absolutely no relish in the fact that we’ve had to make this decision.

‘It was not a decision that we expected to make… Look, there was that huge gap in the public finances, £22billion.

‘The Tories knew that. They called an election, they walked away, and they left it to somebody else to sort out.

‘We will fix it, by the way. We will sort this. We will get our economy back on a much firmer footing and we will deliver some hope and optimism about the difference that we can make.’

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Keir Starmer declares there is ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for the UK – as he pledges to lead a ‘great reforming government’ in Labour conference speech

Sir Keir Starmer will today declare there is ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for the country as he pledges to lead a ‘great reforming government’.

In his keynote speech to Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool, the Prime Minister will try to lift the gloom that has threatened to envelop his tenure by arguing that making ‘painful choices’ now will eventually pay off.

Sir Keir will urge people to join a ‘collective’ effort to ‘renew’ Britain, saying it will involve a ‘shared struggle’.

He will say his project ‘will be tough in the short term, but in the long term it’s the right thing to do for our country and we all benefit from that’.

After weeks of bad headlines about the thousands of pounds of free gifts received by Sir Keir and senior figures such as Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner, the PM will re-commit himself to ‘the service of working people’.

Sir Keir Starmer will today declare there is ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for the country as he pledges to lead a ‘great reforming government’

Sir Keir will urge people to join a ‘collective’ effort to ‘renew’ Britain, saying it will involve a ‘shared struggle’

Chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves (R) laughs with Keir Starmer (C) and Angela Rayner (L) before delivering her keynote speech to conference on Monday

The PM will acknowledge that many voters are ‘fed up’ with politics, adding: ‘I know this country is exhausted by and with politics.

‘I know that the cost-of-living crisis drew a veil over the joy and wonder in our lives and that people want respite and relief, and may even have voted Labour for that reason.’

But Sir Keir will not offer an apology for accepting more than £100,000-worth of freebies. One senior source said: ‘This is a speech setting out a ten-year vision for the country – not a discussion about a few suits.’

Ministers have been shaken by a fall in business confidence following gloomy rhetoric about the state of the economy.

But the PM will today appeal to voters – and Labour members – to stick with a plan that has already seen cuts to pensioners’ winter fuel payments.

He will say: ‘The truth is that if we take tough long-term decisions now, if we stick to the driving purpose behind everything we do: higher economic growth – so living standards rise in every community; our NHS facing the future – waiting lists at your hospital down; safer streets in your community; stronger borders; more opportunities for your children; clean British energy powering your home; making our country more secure… then that light at the end of this tunnel, that Britain that belongs to you, we get there much more quickly.’

Sir Keir Starmer rehearses his keynote speech which he will deliver to the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on Tuesday

Labour politicians applause during conference on Monday

Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer share a joke on Monday at the ACC Liverpool

Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves at conference on Monday

It comes after Ms Reeves also tried to cut through her Government’s doom-mongering by saying there is a ‘prize on offer’ if the country makes the ‘right choices now’.

Delivering her speech to Labour’s conference yesterday, the Chancellor claimed her ‘optimism for Britain burns brighter than ever’ and her ‘ambition knows no limits’. But there were warnings that jobs growth has been stifled as growth slows amid ‘jangling nerves’.

Worse-than-expected monthly figures from the S&P Global purchasing managers’ index (PMI) suggested Labour’s tax-raising plans are taking their toll on the private sector.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: ‘Investment plans in particular are reported to have been put on ice pending clarity on the new government’s policies, especially towards taxation.’ Separate data from the Confederation of British Industry revealed a sharp downturn in UK manufacturing, with firms ‘increasingly cautious’ ahead of the Budget.

Shadow Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: ‘The last few months – and today’s speech – were a big opportunity to set out plans to grow the economy. The Chancellor once again wasted it with discredited attacks on the Opposition.’