Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy refused to accept that thousands of pensioners will be worse off this year because of the scrapping of automatic winter fuel payments.
During a heated exchange on Good Morning Britain, Martin Lewis challenged Nandy on the decision to remove the £300 payments and said many of the poorest pensioners will not know they are eligible for pension credit.
Money Saving Expert Lewis said to the Wigan MP: “You are taking money out of their hands.
“You are willing to accept that collateral damage of hundreds of thousands of poorest pensioners – many have dementia – not getting the winter fuel payment.”
But Nandy was quick to defend the decision and refused claims that Labour do not care.
She added that to reach the thousands of OAPs eligible for pension credit Labour have extended the cut-off to April 2025, doing door-to-door knocks and posting letters in order to boost pension credit uptake.
She said: “I am not willing to accept that, we are absolutely determined to solve it.
“I couldn’t care more about this – neither could the chancellor.
“We are doing everything that we can with the Work and Pension Secretary to deal with the fact that we have inherited this enormous black hole and this appalling economic inheritance.”
The government has received widespread backlash from the decision to axe the universal benefit since its announcement in July.
Many have urged for a U-turn which has been called out for targeting pensioners relying on the payment for basic needs.
Opposition politicians have said it is forcing pensioners to chose between eating and heating.
Manchester City Council last week set out plans to increase pension credit uptake and announced the UK’s first pensioner hardship fund to tackle reaching the poorest pensioners who will now not receive their winter fuel payment.
Nandy, MP for Wigan, also appeared on Sky News today where she was questioned by Kay Burley over reports senior Labour figures pressed police to provide blue-light escort for Taylor Swift during her Eras Tour performances at Wembley this summer.
Nandy said that the decision to provide this security was an operational matter for the police not the government.
She said: ” Neither the Prime Minister, nor the Home Secretary nor the Mayor of London have the power to override the police on this matter.”
Burley questioned Nandy on Keir Starmer and the London mayor’s decision to accept free tickets to Taylor Swift concerts.
She added: “As long as they declare it and are absolutley upfront about what has happened, people can judge for themselves.”
Feature Image: Rwendland via Wikimedia Commons
