Labour choosing 'baffling' winter fuel cuts as 'hill to die on'

Keir Starmer shows no sign of backing down on the 'baffling' winter fuel cuts despite a Labour conference revolt.

Labour members voted against the government with a show of hands at the Liverpool party conference. The crowd exploded into cheer as the result became clear.

The vote adds to the pressure on the PM to abandon the decision to axe the £300 payment for all but the poorest pensioners.

Speaking on The Division Bell podcast, The Mirror’s Mikey Smith said: “There are bits of it that are baffling to me. I don't know why they haven't tried to take some of the sting out of it.

“I don't know why they haven't looked at shifting the threshold for pension credit, a little bit. Just a little bit…because they can play with that.”

He continues: “That's not super hard to do. They might have to do it at the budget, but it's not super hard to do. And that would take all the sting out of it or a lot of it.

“It's a really, really weird hill they've chosen to die on.”

The PM has repeatedly defended the policy by referring to the black hole left in the public finances by previous Conservative governments.

He has insisted that the government have been forced to make tough choices to stabilise the economy - and that pensioners would be protected by the triple lock.

The unions have added to pressure on the government, with Unite leading the calls to U-turn at the conference.

Unite members - including general secretary Ms Graham - staged a protest outside the party conference hall on Wednesday, shouting "save the winter fuel".

But following the anticipated vote on the final day of the conference, Labour made clear there would be no U-turn.

During the same episode of The Division Bell, The Express’ Sam Lister – who was at the protest – spoke about the unusual cross-party consensus on the issue.

She said: “This is not a right or left issue. This is absolutely across the board.”

“You’ve got the Daily Express and the trade unions in the same position, you've got the Greens, Reform and the Conservatives, the SNP and the Lib Dems. All the charities are against it, the think tanks are against it, the parties are against it. Most the media are against it.”

For more, you can listen to The Division Bell on Spotify, and Apple Podcasts