Professor Martin Powell reacts to the vote to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment and if the new Labour government is delivering its promise of change.
"Today saw Parliament at its best and worst. On the positive side, there were passionate speeches highlighting the fears of older constituents, who are feeling ‘terrified’ and ‘frightened’. However, the outcome was never in doubt, despite a surprising number of Labour MPs abstaining to cut the government majority to 120.
The Labour government has turned away from its traditional support for universalism, opting instead for increased means-testing. This shift has echoes of the hated Poor Law before 1945. Some Labour MPs attacked ‘14 years of Tory austerity’, but it is difficult to see how the same MPs now supported Labour austerity. It may have been a hard decision for the Treasury, but as a Labour critic pointed out, it may be a far harder budgetary decision for pensioners choosing between food and heating.
Critics highlighted the evidence linking cold homes to ‘excess mortality’. Although no impact assessment was published, a Labour estimate from 2017 suggested that excess mortality could be around 4,000. Labour loyalists struggled to defend a measure that did not appear in their Manifesto and was heavily criticised by Labour when previously suggested by Prime Ministers Theresa May and Rishi Sunak. It was also pointed out that if all eligible pensioners claim Pension Credit (with other ‘passported benefits’) then a policy aimed to reduce expenditure would increase it. As one critic summed up, ‘This is not the change people voted for’."
Professor of Health and Social Policy
Martin Powell, Professor of Health and Social Policy, HSMC. Areas of work include health policy, decentralisation, partnerships, history of health care before the NHS.
