The vote on the Winter Fuel Allowance (WFA) at the Labour Party Conference was a protest vote, made on the morning after the speech before. Apparently the hall was half-empty reminding the Guardian of a Zombie Apocalypse
Liz Kendall found herself on the wrong end of John Crace’s pen
Liz … less so. Though she did get a standing ovation for saying the government had had no choice but to cut the winter fuel allowance.
How she managed that was a mystery. Maybe she’s a hypnotist. She also managed to convince herself that the whole purpose of cutting the WFA had been to increase spending to make sure everyone in need claimed pension credit. Reality is no object to Liz. She has somehow convinced herself she thought up the triple lock. Truly, she moves in mysterious ways.
WFA is so divisive it’s the kind of thing you would only cut in the opening months of a Government , the surprising thing is that the Government has picked on a group of people whose needs are so various
It looks very hard to means test without a cliff edge
You are entitled to your opinion Nic but you are wrong. My dad lives on £12k Pa in a caravan. He doesn’t qualify for pensions credit and he can’t afford to heat it. His electricity costs have become prohibitive and every penny counts. I’m fine with taking it off 40% taxpayers.
— Carl Howard (@carlfhoward) September 25, 2024
It’s sad that the pension agenda is now dominated by a payment that is most definitely a benefit and not a pension. There are many other things that need to be debated in pensions, not least the state pension age, the last report on which is now two years old and still to be published. The AE reforms are now a matter for 2025 making their implementation in the middle of the decade unlikely. Pensions are now a matter of investment and will remain so as we approach the budget, after which they will be an issue of taxation.
Sure , there were some photo-opportunities for industry celebrities invited to the think-tank panels of the Conference fridge and I expect a few videos will circulate about what was discussed within the rooms, but frankly there are enough open debates about pensions to negate the point of the fringe and it looks to be dying a protracted death.
Pensions remain an important issue, but Conferences don’t do the kind of detail they need. That’s now a matter for social media!