OPINION Keir Starmer refused to apologize to OAPs over loss of winter fuel payment.
GMB star Susanna Reid blasted the Prime Minister after his speech at the Labor Conference in Liverpool.
4
Sir Keir Starmer on GMB this morning
4
It was baked by host Susanna Reid
4
Susanna asked Sir Keir if he would apologize to the pensioners
4
Keir Starmer at yesterday’s Labor conferenceCredit: AFP
Susanna asked Sir Keir if he wanted to apologize to pensioners for cutting winter fuel payments, which he has refused to do four times.
Kicking off the interview, Susanna asked how Sir Keir could justify taking up to £300 from tough OAPs.
Sir Keir said: “Well, it’s difficult and I think the first thing that needs to be said and explained is why we had to do it.
“We’ve inherited a really damaged economy, we’ve done an audit and found an undisclosed £22bn black hole this year, which we need to fix.”
Unconvinced, Susanna wondered why pensioners had to pay into the “black hole”.
But Sir Keir said: “Because there is a £22bn black hole. We have to tackle this year because we have to stabilize the economy.
“If we stabilize the economy, which we are determined to do, that means we can absolutely commit to a triple lock.
“This means for pensioners an extra £900 this year, an extra £460 next year.
Because I want to make sure every pensioner is better off under Labour.
The Prime Minister added: “But we can only do that if we stabilize the economy.”
“At the same time, as expected, we are trying to get as many pensioners as possible on the pension loan.
“This means that winter fuel is covered. And of course, they get a pension credit, which is very important.
“But the reason we had to do it was 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.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir said: “£22bn of money is a huge amount to find in a year.
“But by leaving it, by not doing it, in my opinion, we risked losing control of the economy.
“And if there’s one thing that, in my opinion, has hit retirees more than anything in the last few years, it’s when inflation went through the roof.
“Because the last government lost control of the economy. I won’t let that happen to pensioners ever again.”
DESPERATE OAP
Susanna then spoke about GMB fan Chrissy – a former NHS nurse with arthritis who is about to lose her pocket money.
Chrissy estimates her fuel bills will rise by £40 a month this winter and she’s dreading it.
The pensioner voted for Labor but feels betrayed.
Susanna asked Sir Keir if he wanted to take this opportunity to apologize to pensioners like Chrissy.
The Prime Minister said: “Well, I’m really concerned that we’ve been put in this position.
“When you inherit an economy that’s £22 billion short, it’s a really tough set of choices.
“But what I don’t want to do is let the economy get out of hand.
“What I want to make sure is that every single retiree gets that increase through the triple lock every year.
“£460 next year because of triple locking. We have to take that action. But I also have to fix the NHS.
“Talking to pensioners, many of them want the NHS to work properly because they depend on it.”
Asked again if he wanted to apologise, Sir Keir continued: “What I would say to Chrissy is this.
“I absolutely promised that we will stabilize the economy to ensure that the economy never gets out of control again.
“That’s when we discovered that £22 billion was missing. The people who should be apologizing are the last government to leave a £22 billion hole.”
He added: “They should feel sorry for that and they should apologise.”
Pressed again, he said: “I’ve come to fix the mess, to fix the problems. – those are hard, really hard decisions.
“The price of doing nothing is the risk of losing control of the economy again. I won’t do that.
“If I do that, you’re going to tell me in two or three years, if we lose control of the economy, are you going to say now that we’re sorry we lost control of the economy?
“So the apology needs to come from the last government that left such a mess, a £22 billion black hole, we can’t walk past it.
“It’s a huge amount of money and if we don’t stabilize the economy, we can’t stick to the triple lock.
“And the triple lock is very important for every pensioner because it is an increase from year to year.
“Like I said, £900 this year, £460 next year.”
‘FREEBIE’ ORDER
Susanna said, “You had the opportunity to do so, but you have not apologized for making what people admit is a difficult choice. So let me continue.”
She asked the Prime Minister if the “free” givers did not make him irrelevant.
He replied: “Well, let me deal with that because obviously, in the busy period leading up to the election, a lot of people helped the Labor Party.
“Some offered gifts of clothes etc. We were very attached at that stage.
“That’s why I took donations for clothes. Now it was the opposite.
“We were busy working on the elections. It is obvious that we are now in the government.
“You won’t see statements like that from me in the future. So that’s the long and short of it.
He added: “Well, let me explain because you’re bringing it up and I think it’s important.
“I have season tickets for Arsenal. I’ve had them for a very long time and I’m going with my boyfriend who is 16 years old.
“For security reasons, it’s not my choice, but both the club and security don’t think I said it, so in that case you can be our guest in the director’s box.
“Other clubs have done the same. Crystal Palace, for example, invited me to enter the director’s box.
“Arsenal did it. Now it’s not a ticket you can buy. You can’t pay for it.
“The club says, be our guest because otherwise you won’t be able to go to the game.”
He added: “And it means I can go to a game to see Arsenal with my boy.”
STAND WITH UKRAINE
Susanna asked if there were any plans to cut foreign aid given the alleged “black hole”.
Sir Keir replied: “Well, you know, of course, any decision has to be made carefully.
“But we were determined. And I’m proud that in this country we were determined in our support for Ukraine.
“I am proud that across the country people have opened their homes to refugees from Ukraine who have suffered from Russian aggression.”
He added; “I think it’s us as a country. But it’s also important.
“For if Russian aggression is seen to have benefit and success, that is a matter of great concern to the United Kingdom.”
Closing the interview, Susanna asked: “Just yes or no, do you keep the council tax discount for one person?”.
The prime minister replied: “Look, I will not make decisions before the election, before the budget. So we will see it in the budget.”
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education