Labour ‘refuse’ to explain how they calculated ‘black hole’ figure driving Winter Fuel cut
As pensioners face a winter without the Winter Fuel allowance, the government has refused a Freedom of Information request asking about how they came to the £2billion ‘black hole’ figure.
Keir Starmer’s rationale for Winter Fuel payment cuts must be clearer (Image: WPA Pool / Pool)
Despite constantly bringing up the black hole, the government has turned down the Financial Times’ Freedom of Information request asking for further details.
Speaking on The Division Bell podcast, the Express’ Sam Lister said: “There’s a big problem now for the government in that the £2 billion black hole that they endlessly cite – there are questions over that.
“It was refused on the basis that the treasury needs more time to make sure the figures are accurate.”
This comes as MPs voted by 348 to 228 in favour of Rachel Reeves’ plan to take Winter Fuel Payments away from of millions of hard-pressed pensioners this Christmas.
With the Budget scheduled for October 30, the policy sets the stage for more tough measures aimed at tackling the so-called black hole.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Prime Minister Keir Starmer have continuously hinted at “difficult decisions” that will need to be made, causing uncertainty for many.
Sam continued: “You’d hope that the figures are accurate as they put them out in July and justified the Winter Fuel cuts on the basis of them.
“If they cannot say with certainty in September that the figures are accurate, people are right to question why they’re doing this in the first place.
“It feels that if you cannot justify this, it doesn’t feel right to then take money off pensioners.”
The Mirror’s Lizzy Buchan responded: “There is a broad question about publishing the rationale behind this sort of thing.
“Keir Starmer had a lot of questions from Rishi Sunak at PMQs about whether an impact assessment had been done about the cut to the Winter Fuel allowance[.]”
“It’s interesting that the government don’t feel that they want to publish that.”
She continued: “Principles of transparency apply across the board, and if you’re going to make these decisions you have to explain why.”
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Outrage as Sue Gray earns more than Keir Starmer making her ‘only pensioner better off’
Sue Gray’s salary is £3,000 more than what the Prime Minister earns, a report has suggested (Image: Getty)
Fury has erupted after it was revealed Sue Gray earns more than Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Ms Gray, already a highly controversial chief of staff, is now earning a whopping £170,000.
That is £3,000 more than the PM, with one Labour source quipping: “Sue Gray is the only pensioner better off under Labour.”
Ms Gray was reportedly warned prior to accepting the huge sum that it would cause outrage.
A source told the BBC, which broke the news: “It was suggested that she might want to go for a few thousand pounds less than the Prime Minister to avoid this very story. She declined.”
Sue Gray is often referred to as the most powerful woman in Whitehall (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir earns £166,786. The amount prime ministers earn has largely gone unchanged for the past 20 years.
Ms Gray’s predecessor, Liam Booth-Smith, took home between £140,000 and £145,000 as Rishi Sunak’s chief of staff.
In 2021, Sir Keir slammed news that Dominic Cummings had received a £40,000 pay rise under Boris Johnson.
The then-opposition leader tweeted: “£40,000 per year pay rise for Dominic Cummings. £3.50 per week for NHS nurses. The mask has slipped.”
Since coming to office, the Prime Minister has also signed off a “rebanding” of advisers’ salaries, meaning pay rises for all.
Bitterness among Labour advisers was compounded by the fact many only found out their salary offer after working in the job for some weeks, meaning they were stuck after discovering their pay cut.
Ms Gray has already been on the receiving end of a number of briefings since Labour entered power. However, the pay revelation has sparked further indignation towards someone referred to as the most powerful woman in Whitehall.
A government insider branded Ms Gray’s pay “the highest-ever special adviser salary in the history of special advisers”.
Another told the BBC: “It speaks to the dysfunctional way No 10 is being run.”
“No political judgement, an increasingly grand Sue who considers herself to be the deputy prime minister, hence the salary and no other voice for the Prime Minister to hear as everything gets run through Sue.”
The news comes amid an ongoing sleaze row involving the Prime Minister and his wife, who have pocketed thousands in luxury freebies from donors – all while stripping pensioners of their winter fuel allowance.
Ms Gray has also been accused of hoarding power in Downing Street since the election, with claims she has deliberately moved fellow top adviser Morgan McSweeney’s desk away from the PM’s office to cut him out.
She was then briefed against with claims she had “subverted” the Cabinet by personally pushing funding plans for a new stadium in Ireland.
Following the BBC story, the Tories have set out a number of questions for Sir Keir and the Cabinet Office, including whether the PM personally signed off Ms Gray’s new salary and the increase in pay bands.
They have also demanded to know whether Ms Gray is on a committee on the pay of advisers, and whether she played a role in setting her own huge salary.
Crucially, they also asked whether Ms Gray is receiving any top-up of her salary from the Labour Party.
