Scrapping winter fuel payments ‘a really difficult decision’, says Labour’s Lucy Powell

Parliament returns from recess tomorrow, with the Labour government warning things will get worse before they get better. Already, this year will see the end of winter fuel payments for many pensioners, and the prospect of tax rises in the budget next month.

We spoke to Leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, and started by asking her if Labour’s gloomy warnings were the right strategy.

Lucy Powell: Part of what we’ve committed to is being straight with people – is making promises that we know we can keep. We can’t change things overnight. We can’t flick a switch, but things are more difficult than we thought. So we’ve got to fix the foundations first and then we’ll get on with really improving people’s lives.

Jackie Long: What one flank of your packed legislative agenda can you point to, that will relieve some of that pain for people – and soon?

Lucy Powell: Well, there’s no silver bullet here. There’s no one thing. We’ve got this packed legislative agenda because there’s so much that we do need to put right, to redress and make the changes that people want to see.

Jackie Long: But you campaigned on change, not pain?

Lucy Powell: We campaigned on change, and we’ve already brought in a bill that’s going to pass its Commons stages, to change the rail system in this country, setting up Great British Energy, which is going to lower people’s bills over time significantly. And bringing in new measures, coming up, to improve workers’ rights, which is going to be transformatory. And the rights of those living in the private rented sector – renters rights. So huge things we’re doing just in weeks.

Jackie Long: So let’s look at some of the things that you have done. So at the same time as giving inflation-busting increases to rail workers and junior doctors, the government decided to take away the Winter Fuel Payment from millions of pensioners. And refused to lift the two child benefit cap, leaving, the Child Poverty Action Group would say, hundreds of thousands of children in poverty.

Lucy Powell: We never said we would lift that cap. So we are doing what we said we would do. But look, economic stability is the best way of ensuring people’s real incomes – their real living standards – are maintained and improved. And the situation that we’ve inherited is absolutely dire. Yes, we’ve had to look at public sector pay, but these were independent, largely, they were independently set decisions about public sector pay. Pensioners are also protected with the triple lock which we are committed to. We have means tested the Winter Fuel Payment, so the poorest still receive it. But this is a really difficult decision. I’m really angry about it as well, because it’s not what I wanted to come into government to do.

Jackie Long: A report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation today says, for the first time, the British public deem it necessary to set aside money for paying for some health treatments privately because they simply don’t believe they will get those health treatments from the NHS.

Lucy Powell: I understand why people would feel like that, because we’ve got over 7 million people on waiting lists for routine operations, hip replacements, knee replacements and so on, which have a devastating impact when you’re waiting a long time.

Jackie Long: I suppose what I’m asking you, as a new government, is can you reassure them there’s no need to do that now?

Lucy Powell: Well, waiting lists are still high. That’s the legacy we were dealing with.

Jackie Long: So they should do that?

Lucy Powell: We can’t eradicate them overnight. But what we are saying to people is there will be more appointments, there will be more operations. We will get those waiting lists down, and the NHS will once again become that service that people can rely on.