There are two obvious reasons why Keir Starmer is wrong on pensioners not needing winter fuel payments.

The government has decided to cut the winter fuel payment for ten million pensioners in England and Wales to help fill a £22 billion “black hole” left by the Conservatives.

The winter fuel payment was designed to ensure pensioners could afford to pay their energy bills during the winter months. It is a one-off tax-free payment of either £200 or £300 each year, determined by age.

Over the weekend, Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended the decision. He told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “What I can guarantee for the state pension is that the increase under this government will outstrip any reduction in the winter fuel payment”.

BBC Verify has said that It is likely that average earnings figures, due out tomorrow, will confirm that the state pension will rise by more than £400 next year.

Winter fuel payments are made to millions of pensioners every year (Image: Getty)

The winter fuel payment is either £200 or £300, and so the prime minister is right that the increase in the state pension will generally be more than that.

But there are two obvious problems with Starmer’s claim, according to BBC Verify – the first of which is that the state pension will not rise until April and the £400 will be spread over the following year.

Winter fuel payments, on the other hand, are usually made in November or December.

The other problem is that the increase in the state pension is meant to help pensioners with the rising cost of living as a whole, not just coping with the loss of winter fuel payments.

More than ten million pensioners are expected to miss out on the winter fuel payment this year.

Around 11.4 million people currently qualify for the payment, but this will be cut to 1.5 million. The move is expected to save the government around £1.4 billion this year.

There are also concerns an estimated 880,000 low-income pensioner households are entitled to pension credit but don’t claim it.

SEE MORE : 

Surge in support for petition demanding Labour reverse ‘callous’ winter fuel payment move

Nearly 100,000 people have backed a petition demanding the Labour government reverse its “callous” decision to axe the winter fuel payment for millions of pensioners.

An older women trying to stay warm (Image: Getty)

More than 96,000 Britons have so far supported the cause ahead of a crunch vote tomorrow.

Petition creator Dennis Reed, the director of over 60s campaign group Silver Voices, said: “Some older people will lose their lives from cold-related conditions if this cruel policy goes through.”

Rachel Reeves’ decision to scrap the £300 payment for nearly 10 million older people could put two million pensioners in dire straits this winter, charities have warned.

Deaths from hypothermia and other cold-related causes will undoubtedly increase, they added.

Mr Reed said: “We call on the Government to reverse its callous decision to scrap the Winter Fuel Payment for 10 million older people from this year.

“Only the small minority of pensioners on pension credit will continue to receive energy support to help them keep warm during the winter.

“To qualify for pension credit and a host of other benefits, older people have to have an income of less than £218 per week (for a single person), which means that almost anyone with a small private pension is disqualified.”

Labour is facing a backbench rebellion in the Commons over the decision.

Ms Reeves was set to address a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party tonight ahead of the vote in an effort to address her MPs’ concerns.