Labour conference votes to reverse cut to winter fuel allowance

A motion calling for Labour to reverse its cut to the winter fuel allowance has been backed by party conference members, in an embarrassing blow to Sir Keir Starmer.

While there is nothing binding about the vote, it puts further pressure on the Labour leadership over its controversial decision to take away the benefit from millions of pensioners.

The motion was put forward by the trade union Unite, which has accused the government of embarking on "austerity mark two".

Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite and long-term critic of Sir Keir, moved the motion by quoting Labour's election winning post-war manifesto, which she said was "one of hope".

She said: "The nation wants food, work and homes... It wants a high and rising standard of living, security for all, against a rainy day..."

"Friends, that's a quote from the 1945 Labour Manifesto, written in the shadow of death, destruction and debt, caused by years of war. A manifesto of hope."

She added: "I do not understand how our new Labour government can cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners and leave the super-rich untouched.

"This is not what people voted for. It is the wrong decision and needs to be reversed."

The cut means only elderly people in receipt of pension credit will receive help with their fuel bills over winter, whereas previously it was universal.

Labour has justified its decision by saying it needs to stabilise the economy after the Tories left behind a £22bn financial "blackhole."

At a fringe event at the party conference on Tuesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the outcome of the Unite motion wouldn't change anything as parliament has already voted to back the cut.

She said MPs voted the way they did "because of a recognition that the triple lock will protect pensioner incomes".