Keir
Starmer urges Labour MPs to back ‘unpopular’ plan to cut winter fuel allowance
PM refuses
to say if MPs who rebel will be stripped of the whip – but makes clear he
expects their support in key vote
Peter Walker
Senior political correspondent
Sun 8 Sep
2024 05.29 EDT
Keir Starmer
has urged Labour MPs to support his “unpopular” plan to remove the winter fuel
allowance for all but the poorest pensioners, saying the government could not
run away from difficult choices.
Speaking in
his first major TV interview since taking office, the prime minister also
hinted at increased support for Ukraine, saying his visit to the White House
next week to see President Biden would be focused on the “strategic” situation
there, and in the Middle East.
Asked about
Tuesday’s vote on the changes to the fuel allowance, forced after the
Conservatives submitted a motion to annul the government’s change to
regulations, Starmer refused to say if Labour MPs who rebelled would be
stripped of the whip – but made it clear he expected their support.
“That will
be a matter for the chief whip,” he told BBC1’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
“We’re going into a vote. I’m glad we’re having a vote, because I think it’s
very important for parliament to speak on this. But every Labour MP was elected
in on the same mandate as I was, which was to deliver the change that we need
for the country.”
The new
government has already suspended the Labour whip from seven MPs who supported
an amendment in July to end the two-child benefits cap.
Starmer
stressed that restricting access to the payments was a vital part of reducing
spending he said had spiralled under a Conservative government which had “run
away from difficult decisions”.
“I‘m
absolutely convinced that we will only deliver that change – I’m absolutely
determined we will – if we do the difficult things now,” he said. “I know
they’re unpopular, I know they’re difficult. Of course, they’re tough choices.
Tough decisions are tough decisions. Popular decisions aren’t tough, they’re
easy.
“I do
recognise how difficult it is for some people. I do recognise it’s really hard
for some pensioners. But of course, they do rely on the NHS, they do rely on
public transport. So these things aren’t completely divorced.”
Worries
about the impact of the policy change are known to be shared by some cabinet
ministers, with some frontbenchers believing the government will have to
announce extra support in the budget.
Starmer,
however, argued that with the triple lock policy of pension increases, he could
guarantee that the annual increase in the state pension “will outstrip any
reduction in the winter fuel payment”.
Starmer is
due to be in Washington on Friday for talks with Biden, a trip not yet set out
by No 10 but announced by the White House.
Asked if
this was an attempt to assuage anger among US officials about the UK’s decision
last week to suspend some arms export licences to Israel because of risks they
could be used in violations of international law, Starmer rejected the
characterisation.
“You’re
wrong about that,” he said. “We’ve been talking to the US beforehand and
afterwards, and they’re very clear that they’ve got a different legal system,
and they understand the decision that we’ve taken. So that’s very clear.
“The reason
I’m actually going and having the visit is not about that at all. It’s because
the situation in Ukraine is becoming ever more pressing, as is the situation in
the Middle East.”
The talks
with Biden would focus on “the tactical decisions we have to make” on those
areas, he added, saying that the next few months would be crucial for Ukraine,
as well as in the Middle East.
Asked if
this could lead to an increase in support for Ukraine, or a decision to allow
Kyiv to use donated weapons on targets inside Russia, Starmer said he was “not
going to get into a discussion about that on live television”.
He added:
“But of course, I want to make sure that we give Ukraine the support that it
needs for as long as it needs.”
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