SQUIRMING Keir Starmer has refused to apologise to OAP losing their winter fuel payments.
GMB star Susanna Reid grilled the PM following his speech at the Labour Conference in Liverpool.
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Susanna asked Sir Keir if he wished to apologise to pensioners for the cuts to winter fuel payments, which he refused to do four times.
Kicking off the interview, Susanna asked how Sir Keir can justify taking away up to £300 from hard-up OAPS.
Sir Keir said: “Well, it’s tough and I think the first thing to say and to explain is why we had to do it.
“We inherited a really damaged economy, we did an audit and we discovered an undisclosed £22 billion black hole this year, which we have to fix.”
An unconvinced Susanna questioned why pensioners have to pay for the “black hole”.
But Sir Keir said: “Because there’s a £22 billion black hole. We have to deal with this year because we need to stabilise the economy.
“If we stabilise the economy, which we’re determined to do, that means that we can absolutely commit to the triple lock.
“That means that for pensioners this year an extra £900, next year an extra £460.
“Because I want to make sure that every pensioner is better off under Labour.”
The prime minister added: “But we can only do that if we stabilise the economy.
“At the same time, as you’d expect, we’re trying to get as many pensioners as possible onto pension credit.
“That means the winter fuel payments is covered. And of course, they get the pension credit, which is really important.
“But the reason we had to do this is because of the black hole left by the previous government.”
Susanna said: “You had choices and you chose to do it. You didn’t have to do it, you chose to do it.”
PM Sir Keir said: “£22 billion of money is a huge amount to find in a year.
“But by leaving it, not doing it, in my view, we ran the risk of losing control of the economy.
“And if there’s one thing which, in my view, has hit pensioners harder than anything in the last few years, is when inflation went through the roof.
“Because the last government lost control of the economy. I’m not going to let that happen to pensioners ever again.”
DESPERATE OAP
Susanna then talked about GMB fan Chrissy – an former NHS nurse with arthritis who is about to lose her allowance.
Chrissy estimates her fuel bills are about to go up by £40 a month this winter and she is dreading it.
The pensioner voted for Labour, but she feels let down.
Susanna asked Sir Keir if he would like to take this opportunity to say sorry to pensioners like Chrissy.
The PM said: “Well, I am really concerned that we’ve been put in this position.
“When you inherit an economy with £22 billion missing, it is a really difficult set of choices.
“But what I don’t want to do is to allow the economy to run out of control.
“What I want to make sure is that every single pensioner, there is that increase through the triple lock each and every year.
“£460 next year because of the triple lock. We have to take that action. But I also have to fix the NHS.
“Talking to pensioners, so many of them want the NHS to work properly because they’re dependent on it.”
Asked again if he would like to apologise, Sir Keir continued: “What I’d say to Chrissy is this.
“I absolutely promised that we would stabilise the economy to make sure we never had the economy getting out of control again.
“We then discovered £22 billion missing. The people who should be saying sorry are the last government who left a hole of £22 billion.”
He added: “They should be sorry for that and they should apologise for that.”
Pressed again, he said: “I’ve come in to fix the mess, fix the problems. – that’s tough, really tough decisions.
“The cost of not doing it is to run the risk that we lose control of the economy again. I’m not going to do that.
“If I do, you will be saying to me in two or three years’ time, if we lose control of the economy, will you now say sorry for having lost control of the economy?
“So the apology needs to come from the last government who left such a mess, £22 billion black hole, we can’t walk past it.
“It’s a huge amount of money, and if we don’t stabilise the economy, we can’t keep to the triple lock.
“And the triple lock is really important for every pensioner because that is the increase year on year.
“As I say, £900 this year, £460 next year.”
‘FREEBIE’ ROW
Susanna said: “You had the opportunity to, but you haven’t said sorry for making what is, people acknowledge, a difficult choice. So let me move on.”
She questioned the Prime Minister on whether “freebies” paid by donors makes him look out of touch.
He responded: “Well, let me just deal with that because obviously, in the busy period running up to the election, lots of people were helping the Labour Party.
“Some made offers of gifts towards clothing, etc. We were very tied up at that stage.
“Therefore I took donations towards clothing. Now that was in opposition.
“We were busy working flat out on the election. Obviously, we’re in government now.
“You won’t be seeing declarations like that from me in future. So that’s the long and the short of it.
He added: “Well, let me just explain because you’re putting this to me and I think it is important.
“I’ve got season tickets at Arsenal. I’ve had them for a very long time and I go with my boy who’s 16.
“For security reasons, not my choice, but both the club and the security do not think that I have said, well, in which case you can be our guest in the director’s box.
“Other clubs have done the same. Crystal Palace, for example, invited me to go in the director’s box.
“Arsenal have done that. Now that’s not a ticket you can buy. You can’t pay for it.
“It’s the club saying, be our guest because otherwise you won’t be able to go to the game.”
He added: “And that means I can go to the game to see Arsenal with my boy.”
STAND WITH UKRAINE
Susanna asked if there were any plans to cut to foreign aid given the alleged “black hole”.
Sir Keir responded: “Well, you know, of course, every decision has to be carefully taken.
“But we have been resolute. And I’m proud that we’ve been resolute in this country for our support for Ukraine.
“I’m proud that across the country, people have opened their homes to refugees from Ukraine who’ve suffered from Russian aggression.”
He added; “I think that’s who we are as a country. But it also matters.
“Because if Russian aggression is seen to benefit and succeed, that is an issue of deep concern to the United Kingdom.”
Wrapping up the interview, Susanna’s asked: “Just in a yes or no, are you keeping the single person council tax discount?’.
The PM responded: “Look, I’m not going to make decisions before the election, before the budget. So we’ll see that in the budget.”
