Unite union criticises Labour for moving vote on winter fuel payment cuts

The vote was due to take place on Monday, but it was put back to today - when most activists have left.

The vote was supposed to take place on the same day the Chancellor gave a speech defending the decision.
Author: Katie Ahearn and David Hughes, PA Political EditorPublished 25th Sep 2024

The union Unite has criticised Labour for moving a vote on the winter fuel payment cuts to the last day of the party conference.

The non-binding vote, urging the government to reverse the plan, was due to take place on Monday - the same day as the Chancellor's speech defending the move.

But it was put back to today - when most activists have left.

The vote was calling on the government to reverse the plan which will impact thousands of pensioners.

Joshua Berlyne, the South East's union representative, said the government should be taxing the wealthy not the poorest:

"We feel there needs to be a wealth tax introduced to redistribute wealth in this country - the fifty richest families are worth a combined five hundred billion pounds, that's the same of half of the UK.

"There's plenty of money in society - the government just needs to redistribute it, and then rebuild the economy with that money.

"We can't rebuild the economy based on cuts."

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer said people must "face the storm" in order to make a "Britain built to last" as he warned of further tough decisions to turn the country around.

In a speech, he said the "wounds of trust" left by the Conservatives needed to be healed as he acknowledged that addressing that legacy would require unpopular decisions.

"If they were popular, they'd be easy.

"But the cost of filling that black hole in our public finances, that will be shared fairly," he told activists in Liverpool.

"We will get the welfare bill down because we will tackle long-term sickness and support people back to work.

"We will make every penny work for you because we will root out waste and go after tax avoiders.

"There will be no stone left unturned."

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