A Labour Party analysis on withdrawing the winter fuel payment which claimed that nearly 4,000 pensioners would die as a result is out of date and not relevant, Labour MP Mike Tapp has claimed.
In a discussion during PMQs Live on GB News, he said: “I completely reject the notion that we're paying unions. We're not.
“We're paying doctors, we're paying nurses, we're keeping our trains running, that will benefit everybody. Our economy suffers through people out of work, through long term sickness.
“We can get people back into work and, look, pensioners need an NHS that functions too.”
Asked about Labour’s previous claim that some 4,000 people would die because of the decision to axe winter fuel payments, he said: “That was seven years ago…the pension has risen by over £3,000 pounds since then, so these aren't figures that we recognise.
“This policy is not an attack on pensioners. This is about ensuring that we have a stable economy that can grow, and we're honouring the triple lock in the pension, so they will see increases in their pensions this year, which is really important.”
Shadow Treasury Minister Gareth Davies said: “You just have to have a quick conversation with the average pensioner, particularly pensioners who have £13,000 a year, at a time when energy prices are going up by 10% which we've just had announced recently.
“But I think this point about the triple lock is an important one. Since 2010, the pension went up, the state pension went up £3,700 pounds. It's just gone up by £900 pounds.
“That's good. That's a very good thing. But clearly it's not a good thing to take away support for vulnerable pensioners as we head into a very cold winter.
“This is a choice by the Labor Government, as I say, to pay the unions and take away from pensioners.
“And lots of people are wondering, given Rachel Reeves' interview this morning, where she said actually it's not about the black hole…because if enough people sign up to pension credit that's going to cost the exchequer even more, so it doesn't make sense.”
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