Reeves stands by winter fuel cuts

Rachel Reeves stood by her winter fuel raid despite accusations that a Labour conference vote on the controversial cut had been kicked into the long grass.

Speaking at the Labour conference on Monday, the Chancellor pledged never to “duck those decisions”, whether for “political expediency” or “personal advantage”.

Despite this, the unions accused the Labour leadership of delaying the crucial vote in the conference hall to avoid embarrassment.

Delegates booed and jeered after it emerged the vote, which they had expected to take place on Monday, would not happen until Wednesday – a day after Sir Keir Starmer’s leader’s speech.

Means-testing of the winter fuel payment will see 10 million pensioners lose their allowance of up to £300. Only those in receipt of Pension Credit will receive it this winter.

But in her conference speech on Monday, Ms Reeves said the cut was the “right decision” in the circumstances she inherited.

Her speech was briefly interrupted by climate protesters who opposed the Government’s decision not to ban all arms sales to Israel.

As they were being escorted out of the hall, she said: “This is a changed Labour Party, a Labour Party that represents working people, and not a party of protest.”

She said the winter fuel cut was necessary because of the “reckless” and “irresponsible” way the Tories had run the economy.

“They did not care about the consequences,” she added. “It was made clear to me that failure to act swiftly could undermine the UK’s fiscal position – with implications for public debt, mortgages and prices. And so I took action to make the in-year savings necessary.

“We are reviewing plans for new hospitals promised by the Conservatives, but which they did not budget for. We cancelled road and rail projects promised by the Conservatives, but which they did not budget for.

“I made the choice to means-test the winter fuel payment so that it is only targeted at those most in need. I know that not everyone – in this hall, or in the country – will agree with every decision I make. But I will not duck those decisions. Not for political expediency. Not for personal advantage.

“Faced with that £22 billion black hole that the Conservatives left this year, and with the triple lock ensuring that the state pension will rise by an estimated £1,700 over the course of this Parliament, I judged it the right decision in the circumstances we inherited.

“I did not take those decisions lightly. I will never take the responsibilities of this office lightly. I will never take lightly the trust of voters who have been burned too often by politicians who put ideology, party and self-interest over the interests of the British people.”

Joe Rollin, the Unite organiser leading on winter fuel, accused Downing Street of pushing for the delay to kick the debate “into the long grass”.

“They’re obviously really embarrassed,” he told The Telegraph. “I think they know that they’ve made a massive error with this policy, but I think they’re embarrassed to do a U-turn.

“I think the public pressure coming from all sorts of different places, not just the usual suspects, the outcry is massive.

“I think they also actually realise that they’ve scored a bit of an own goal, looking at the demographic of the people who are most angry – they’re the ones that actually vote.”

Another union source said they suspected No 10 was behind the delay to the vote because “they think they will lose it”.

A Labour source said: “This motion has not at any point been timetabled for debate today. There is no delay, and any suggestion there has been is simply incorrect.”

At least five unions – Unite, Unison, Aslef, the FBU and the CWU – are all expected to urge delegates to vote for the motion, according to union sources.

The speech comes after a week in which Labour has been blown off course by rows over donations. Before the conference, Ms Reeves – along with Sir Keir and Angela Rayner – announced they would no longer take donations towards clothes. The Chancellor had accepted £7,500 in clothing while in opposition.

Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, contrasted the scrapping of the universal winter fuel payment with the accepting of gifts.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, she said:

Ms Reeves also defended the Government’s decisions to increase pay for public sector workers and charge VAT on private school fees.

“I know every parent has aspirations for their children,” she said. “And I know the strain that our state schools have been under. This Government will introduce VAT on private school fees to invest in our state schools. It is the fair choice, the responsible choice, the Labour choice, to support the 94 per cent of children in state schools.”

Ms Reeves promised a more “active” Government that would intervene to protect various sectors instead of leaving them to the mercy of the market, and said she would be publishing an industrial strategy next month.

“We must learn the lesson from the Tories’ failure,” he said. “We must build for growth in a changed world. In this age of insecurity, growth requires stability, but not stability alone. It requires active government, and it requires the contribution of people in every part of Britain, not just a few.

“Where there are vested interests, outdated practices or institutional barriers obstructing productive investment, we will confront them head on. Where active government is called for, this Government will act.

“We are calling time on the ideas of the past, calling time on the days when government stood back, left crucial sectors to fend for themselves and turned a blind eye to where things are made and who makes them. The era of trickle-down, trickle-out economics is over.”

Ms Reeves defended the Government’s decision to give pay rises to junior doctors and train drivers to persuade their unions to end their strikes.

“I am proud to stand here as the first Chancellor in 14 years to have delivered a meaningful, real pay rise to millions of public sector workers,” she said. “We made that choice.

“We made that choice not just because public sector workers needed that pay rise, but because it was the right choice for parents, patients and for the British public. The right choice for recruitment and retention. And the right choice for our country.”

During her speech, the Royal College of Nursing announced that its members had rejected the Government’s offer of a 5.5 per cent pay rise.