Labor wants to bow to pensioners’ anger by cutting other benefits for older people | Politics | News

It is understood Sir Keir Starmer will quell pensioners’ anger over the scrapping of the winter fuel payment by protecting other benefits in the Budget.

Rachel Reeves is expected to ensure older people continue to receive free prescriptions and bus rides amid concerns that scrapping them could be part of Labour’s next attack on pensioners.

This follows the government’s decision to cut around 10 million older people’s winter fuel allowance of up to £300.

Speaking to reporters on the way to a Commonwealth summit in Samoa, Sir Keir said: “I’m not going to preempt this, but we want to make sure pensioners are adequately protected and of course we are.”

MPs, campaigners and pensioners have demanded his government reverse its decision to cut winter petrol money without warning to fill a black hole in the Treasury.

Ms Reeves will go to the House of Commons next Wednesday to announce her budget. This is the first budget event of its kind by a Labor government in 15 years.

Sir Keir said next week’s event would be his party’s first opportunity to “define the way we will approach the economy”.

He insisted there was “no reason” for entrepreneurs to leave the country because of the budget.

The Prime Minister said he was “confident” that more businesses in the UK would invest beyond the £63 billion pledged at last week’s investment summit before Christmas.

He said: “My evidence that what we are saying is attractive to investors is last Monday’s investment summit, which was extremely successful.

“All the feedback we received was that it was very well received by a significant number of global investors.

“At this summit, by the end of the day, £63 billion of people-to-invest agreements had been made. To me, this is clear evidence that these investors have confidence in what we are doing.

“I am confident we will see further investment from abroad before Christmas to add to this £63bn.”

The Prime Minister’s spokesman said Ms Reeves’ budget was “unabashedly pro-business”.

He suggested that no investors should worry about her statement in the House of Commons next Wednesday.

He said: “I think the Prime Minister said on the plane: No, investors shouldn’t be worried about this Budget. This budget – this government values ​​growth. He is unashamedly pro-business.”

Sir Keir hopes to design the Budget to lay the foundation for the economy and rebuild the country.

He said: “To fix the foundation, we have to really figure out how to scrub it and make sure we’re standing on a very, very stable foundation.

The Prime Minister added: “Of course there are other budgets to come, but this is a significant one that will set the approach, the framework if you will, and give a sense of how we want to do business.”

“We will address the legacy in this household. I’m not willing to move past it. I’m not willing to put it off, and that’s a sign of the way I want to do business, and that’s not by pretending that our problems aren’t there, but by actually rolling up our sleeves and to deal with it.”

Sir Keir was also pressed on his definition of “working people”.

He said: “I think of people who go out to make a living, maybe have some savings, but are not in a position to routinely write a big check if they get into trouble.”

“For me, they are the people we think about when we make our decisions.”