Delegates to the Labour conference on Wednesday (September 25) publicly repudiated the government of Keir Starmer for its recent, disgraceful cuts to pensioners’ winter fuel allowances. Given that the government is barely three months old and has proven to be unpopular from the start with its continued austerity and series of missteps, this is deeply embarrassing.
After a fiery speech from Unite the union general secretary Sharon Graham, delegates backed a motion demanding that the government “reverse the introduction of means-testing for the winter fuel allowance.”
“The nation wants food, work and homes… It wants a high and rising standard of living, security for all, against a rainy day…”
“Friends, that’s a quote from the 1945 Labour Manifesto, written in the shadow of death, destruction and debt, caused by years of war.
“A manifesto of hope.
“Written at a time when our debt to GDP was 270 per cent. Nearly three times higher than it is now.
“Yet, no mention of cuts, no mention of austerity and certainly no mention of making everyday people pay.
“Labour then knew, that to make Britain more equal, they had to think and act differently.
“They knew to make it count. To make a real difference, Labour could not simply be better managers, they had to make lasting change.
“They promised: jobs, homes and education. And built a national health service on the back of crisis.
“Their story wasn’t one of tightening belts or making some of the poorest in our society pay.
“Friends, people simply do not understand, I do not understand, how our new Labour government can cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners and leave the super-rich untouched.
“This is not what people voted for. It is the wrong decision and needs to be reversed.
“Friends, we are the sixth richest economy in the world. We have the money. Britain needs investment, not austerity mark two. We won’t get any gold badge for shaving peanuts off our debt.
“These fiscal rules are self-imposed and the decision to keep them is hanging like a noose around our necks.
“Friends, our public services and British industry need investment now. It’s no good having sympathy for workers at Grangemouth losing their jobs. They don’t need pity. They need Labour to step up to the plate and not allow a billionaire, who buys a football club as a hobby, to throw these workers on the scrap heap.
“We cannot leave Britain at the whim of footloose corporations.
“Hoping for them to invest is a prayer not a plan.
“Yes, Britain is broken. Yes, the Tories have left a mess and yes, they are to blame.
“But Labour is now in Government, and we can't keep making everyday people pay. Friends, I keep hearing, ‘a wealth tax is too difficult, would take too long’.
“I say absolute rubbish. We seem to be able to get workers paying their taxes in a matter of weeks!
“The system is rigged and the country knows it.
"Friends, let's hold up our heads and be proud to be Labour. Let everyday people know - we are on their side. Let's put our arms around the working class and make lasting change."
Labour and Starmer have not enjoyed the usual "honeymoon" period that new government gets. Graham's speech and the vote are another humiliating own-goal from an utterly visionless and morally bankrupt Prime Minister.
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