,The disgraceful decision by Keir Starmer’s UK Labour government to cut the £300 winter fuel allowance for pensioners, except for those on the state pension who are entitled to pension credits, provoked a storm of protest and opposition. The payment was first introduced by Tony Blair’s New Labour government in 1997. That this was one of the first decisions of the Starmer government, announced without warning and any kind of consultative process, is a clear indication of the anti-working-class nature of Starmer’s government.
In response, Unite the union’s retired members branches, along with pensioner activists, have launched a campaign of protests and pickets to have the cut restored. The undemocratic nature of this cut was exposed by Unite’s motion at the Labour party conference in September this year. The motion called for the payment restored and was passed with a small majority.
This did not move the Labour leadership, as they are largely unaccountable to such conference decisions. In Westminster only one Labour MP voted against the government’s position. Ironically the hated Tories voted to retain the payment!
Attention has been focused in Northern Ireland and throughout the UK on the regional assemblies. The campaign has forced Northern Ireland communities minister, Gordon Lyons (Democratic Unionist Party) to come up with £17 m from the local Assembly ruling Executive parties, which equates to £100 for each pensioner. He claimed that £44m was needed, which he didn’t have.
The initial response from the Executive was that they opposed the cut but couldn’t reverse it locally. All the local Executive parties even signed Unite’s pledge stating the cut was ‘something we cannot in good conscience support’. In reality, they initially did. It is not clear therefore where this £17m came from. The reality is that the anger of 250,000 pensioners, many of whom are likely to vote in forthcoming elections, informed this decision.
This concession is welcome but clearly not enough. The Executive parties also failed in their statutory duty to carry out an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) before deciding they had no money to pay anything. They have now decided to belatedly carry this out by next March! The deadline for the£100 payments is also next March, the end of the winter, by which time many pensioners will have died from cold related illnesses.
The Westminster government is also being challenged in court by Unite, with a judicial review on similar grounds. These procedures should expose the government but by themselves will not force a reversal. Our campaign in Northern Ireland was the first to win a concession. It has now spread to other regions of the UK, with the Scottish government announcing a reversal but they have not come up with a figure. So also, with some local authorities in England.
It is also worth noting that the Northern Ireland Executive found extra money to extend the welfare mitigations for three years regarding the previous government’s cuts, like the disgraceful two child rule (a cap on welfare benefits for families with over two children).
It’s a political choice
Campaigners have welcomed this and have pointed out that it is possible to find the resources from within Stormont’s budget in mitigation for the winter fuel payment for pensioners. It’s a political choice. The campaign to restore the payment has had to deal with the government/media distortions about wealthier pensioners not needing the payment. They claim that pensioners who are on the state pension and who can claim pension credits will still get the payment. The problem is that many pensioners are excluded if they are a few pounds over the state pension and the application process is a difficult online process. A lot of people have also occupational pensions which they have contributed to for decades. The best way to ensure that all pensioners are treated fairly is by applying the principle of universality. It is also easier and more cost effective to apply. Mechanisms can be found to deal with the wealthier pensioners through progressive taxation systems which can be discussed with the National Pensioner Convention and trade unions.
Significant numbers of Unite pensioners have repeatedly challenged Unite’s leadership on the link with Labour and have called for disaffiliation and a political alternative. The UK pensions are amongst the lowest in Europe. They need a significant increase. The energy sector must be taken into public ownership which would eradicate profiteering and cut bills. Above all, we need a party based on the working-class movement to fight for us.
