Labour: Older people ‘risk being at the sharp end of the cost of living crisis’

Older people “risk being at the sharp end of the cost of living crisis”, Labour has warned as it argued working pensioners may be almost £1,500 worse off over the next couple of years.

The party will use an Opposition Day debate in the Commons on Monday to argue that pensioners face a “triple whammy” of “rising bills, real-terms cuts to the state pension and the national insurance levy”.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Ashworth will call on the Government to ”cut home energy bills, halt the planned tax rises on working pensioners and ensure older people are protected from the cost of living crisis”.

Fresh analysis from the House of Commons Library, commissioned by Labour, shows that working pensioners “could be an average of £1,400 worse off over the next two years”, the party said.

Mr Ashworth said: “Instead of protecting pensioner incomes as Boris Johnson promised, the Tories are cutting the state pension and clobbering pensioners in work with a tax rise, leaving them worse off by an eye-watering £1,400. It’s daylight robbery and Boris Johnson has betrayed retired people.

“Pensioner poverty is increasing, with older people facing impossible choices between eating and heating. The upcoming NICs (national insurance contributions) rise should be halted this week and action should be taken to reduce energy bills by hundreds of pounds for those who need help – as Labour has proposed.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is under pressure to introduce further measures to soften the cost of living crisis’ impact on already stretched budgets when he gives his spring statement on Wednesday.

A Government spokesperson said: “We recognise the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, which is why we’re providing support worth £21 billion this financial year and next to help. This includes freezing fuel duties to keep costs down and helping households with their energy bills through our £9.1 billion Energy Bills Rebate.

“Our Winter Fuel Payments are also supporting over 11 million pensioners with their energy bills and we are continuing to encourage those eligible for Pension Credit, and the wide range of other benefits it can provide, to make a claim.”

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