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Sir Keir Starmer will face a big challenge to his authority at the Labour conference with a looming vote on the UK government’s cuts to the winter fuel allowance for pensioners.
Two trade unions on the left of the party have secured time at the conference in Liverpool to debate and vote on the prime minister’s decision to remove the allowance, worth up to £300, from 10mn pensioners.
The vote pushed by Unite and the Communication Workers Union could come as early as Monday. It would not be binding on the government, but threatens to embarrass Starmer as he battles to reassert his authority in the wake of controversies about gifts he and other ministers have taken from rich donors.
Labour had hoped the annual gathering would be a jubilant victory rally for a party that is back in government for the first time in 14 years. Instead it has been overshadowed by allegations of sleaze, criticism of Starmer’s gloomy tone on the economy and bitter briefings about his chief of staff.
The government unexpectedly announced cuts to the winter fuel allowance shortly after winning power in July in an attempt to save £1.4bn a year. The move has made many Labour MPs uneasy and 52 abstained on a House of Commons vote on the policy earlier this month.
Some charity groups have warned that the cut could leave large numbers of pensioners vulnerable during the coming winter months. The cut limits the benefit to the poorest pensioners who are entitled to pension credit.
Delegates at the Labour conference may vote in support of the policy, but if Starmer loses the vote it would be a striking rebuke on a significant government policy at his first party gathering as prime minister.
Unite, which represents 1.1mn workers across a range of industries, has pursued a critical approach towards Labour’s leadership since Starmer took the helm of the party in 2020.
Though traditionally one of Labour’s biggest donors, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham scaled back the union’s financial support ahead of the general election.
Graham said on Sunday that she wanted Starmer to reverse the “cruel policy” as quickly as possible.
“I’d like him to say that he’s made a mis-step and to reverse that policy. I’d also like him to say that we’re not going to take this country down austerity mark 2,” she told Sky News.
Unions unanimously backed a similar motion at the recent Trades Union Congress and together hold 48 per cent of the votes at the Labour conference.
Delegates at the Labour conference either represent affiliated organisations such as unions or local party members in each parliamentary constituency.
“We don’t need many of the constituency delegates to join us to win the debate,” said one union leader.
One government figure said the debate over the policy had been expected and said Labour would provide a boost to pensioners this year by increasing the state pension.
The row comes as Labour has sought to draw a line under a controversy over gifts from wealthy donors including Labour peer Lord Waheed Alli.
Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner on Sunday insisted she gave “nothing” to Alli in return for a five-day stay in a Manhattan apartment and thousands of pounds of free clothing.
She told the BBC as the conference kicked off that politicians from all parties had accepted gifts “for years” and that “all MPs do it”.
“I promised nothing and gave him nothing in return,” Rayner said of Alli’s donations.
The media tycoon has given thousands of pounds of gifts including free clothing to seven sitting cabinet ministers including Rayner and Starmer.
The prime minister initially failed to declare clothing gifts from Alli worth £16,200 to him personally and £5,000 to his wife.
Rayner said she understood that the general public was “angry and upset” and said the rules had to apply to everyone in politics. “If there is a national debate about how to fund politics . . . let’s do that.”
On Friday the Financial Times revealed that both Rayner and chancellor Rachel Reeves had declared gifts of thousands of pounds of clothing from donors in parliament’s register of interests as generic support for their political work.
In an attempt to shut down the scandal, the party pledged on Friday that Starmer, Reeves and Rayner would not take any free clothing in future.
Rayner denied breaking parliamentary disclosure rules after the Sunday Times newspaper reported that her friend Sam Tarry had also stayed in Alli’s Manhattan apartment with her.
She said on Sunday that this did not break the rules. Her team said the presence of Tarry — who was a Labour MP at the time — did not need to be reported because Alli did not know he was there.
Asked why she stayed in the flat for free, she told the BBC: “As friends do, a friend allowed me to stay . . . people do stay at other people’s apartments.”
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