Question Time fury as MPs urged to give up heating payments to help struggling pensioners
Question Time viewers were quick to share their ire towards the government’s decision to cut the winter fuel payment for all but the poorest pensioners, as the show headed to Ashton-under-Lyne for the latest episode of the popular BBC political show.
Labour MP Lucy Powell was grilled about her party’s decision to scrap the Winter Fuel Payment (Image: BBC)
During the episode, one member of the audience was quick to draw attention to the plight of thousands of pensioners, who will now miss out on the £300 benefit each Winter to help combat the rising cost of heating their homes, by pointing out that over 570 MP’s themselves are entitled to claim a £3500 heating allowance each year.
According to the viewer, if those MP’s, who themselves will typically receive a salary of £91,346, plus expenses each year, didn’t claim the allowance, then over 6,700 pensioners could be given the winter fuel benefit instead.
This prompted them to ask: “How do you justify withdrawing the payment from pensioners?”
First to respond was Leader of the House of Commons, Labour MP Lucy Powell, who started off by explaining it had been far from an easy decision for the government to make.
Conservative MP Graham Stuart took a far more critical view of Labour’s approach (Image: BBC)
She said: “Obviously we pay heating in our homes like everybody else, and we’ve seen those costs going up and up and up in recent years with inflation and energy costs going up. There’s no denying this is a very difficult thing to do and it will be difficult for people. It’s not something we came into government wanting to do at all.”
Describing the deficit inherited by the previous government as “bigger than expected” Lucy went on to say: “There is this big black hole, it is significant. For this financial year, that’s the challenge.”
Yet rather than shoot down the proposal for MP’s to turn down the heating allowance, instead Ms. Powell reiterated Labour’s stance on the blanket withdrawal of the winter fuel payment, by pointing out that the poorest pensioners shouldn’t be missing out, as she encouraged them to apply for pension credit instead, which would see the benefit reinstated.
This wasn’t good enough for Conservative MP Graham Stuart, a former government minister who condemned Labour’s decision by arguing: “It’s taking £300 away from the very poorest pensioners.”
He then went on to add: “The very poorest pensioners are not the pensioners on pension credit, very low income though they’ve got, it’s the people that are eligible for it – but that for one reason or another, don’t claim!”
Lib Dem MP Tim Farron was also critical as he echoed concerns about pensioners missing out (Image: BBC)
Meanwhile Lib Dem MP Tim Farron, also weighed in on the situation by pointing out one of the fatal flaws in Labour’s plan, which would see several pensioners struggling to heat their homes this winter, by earning too much money to qualify for pension credit, due to an extremely low earning threshold.
“The problem is to get pension credit, there’s a really low threshold, or rather to miss out, is a really low threshold. So you can be on £12,800 a year – and you’re earning too much to get pension credit. So you’re on barely just over half the national minimum wage, and yet you’re deemed to be well off enough to cope without it. That is outrageous!”
In a particularly poignant moment, Tim also made reference to some of his own constituents, as he said “Some of them will have to choose between heating and eating, and in some cases, they won’t be able to afford to do either.”
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BBC Question Time panellist’s brutal 9-word putdown over Keir Starmer’s free gifts
Sir Keir Starmer was ridiculed on Question Time for accepting free gifts from a rich donor – with one panellist brutally declaring in a withering nine-word putdown: “He should have gone to Specsavers like everyone else.”
Jill Kirby criticised Sir Keir Starmer for accepting the free gifts (Image: BBC/Getty)
The Prime Minister has faced widespread criticism after the Register of Members’ Interests showed he took thousands of pounds worth of clothing from Lord Waheed Alli, a prominent Labour backer, who was then given a pass to No 10.
The Labour leader had already admitted to getting more than £16,200 worth of “work clothing items”, as well as several pairs of new glasses worth thousands of pounds in total.
But the PM is now facing a standards investigation after failing to declare more than £5,000 of high-end items for his wife, Lady Victoria Starmer.
On top of that, the keen Arsenal fan accepted more than £35,000 of free football tickets over the last parliament, alongside other offers of hospitality.
On Thursday’s Question Time, Lucy Powell, the Leader of the House of Commons, said Sir had always been transparent about donations he has received.
She said: “The really important thing is that that is not in any way shaping policy. In fact it’s the opposite.
“The vested interests, the corporate interests … we are taking head on.”
However, columnist Jill Kirby claimed Lord Alli “was clearly buying influence”.
She added: “Keir Starmer does not need to have his clothes bought for him – he should have gone to Specsavers like everyone else.”
Sir Keir has denied being the “king of the freebies” after receiving more than £100,000 worth of gifts and donations – more than any other MP and twice the amount of Ms Powell, who was in second place.
Labour grandee and former deputy leader Harriet Harman urged Sir Keir to “deal with the criticism” and admit that such donations were not acceptable.
She said “doubling down” and trying to “justify” the freebies was angering and alienating voters.
