Cutting winter fuel payments shows Labour priorities

‘Labour has left the old who tend to vote Tory with little’

- Tim Newark

IN A shameless act of blame-shifting, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has made clear Labour priorities by cutting winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners and ditching plans to cap elderly care costs, while caving into above-inflation pay rises for public sector workers.

Unions will be delighted while senior citizens will be worse off.

Melodramatically revealing a supposed black hole of £22billion in public finances left by the Tories, Ms Reeves chose to take money off the elderly in order to give inflation-busting rises, including an eye-watering 22 per cent to junior doctors.

Despite these well-paid doctors putting lives at risk with their reckless strikes last year costing £1.5 billion of taxpayers' money and adding to the national waiting list for treatment they've been handed a huge pay boost that will only encourage other NHS workers to strike for more money.

This is being paid for in part by ending fuel payments to all retired people who do not receive benefits. Ms Reeves plans to slash the number of recipients from 11.4 million people to 1.5 million, leaving many pensioners in a precarious position as they struggle to make up shortfalls ranging between £100 and £300.