Chris Murray

I am glad that the right hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart) referred to the change in the Labour manifesto at the last election, because the first line of that manifesto was the promise to bring economic stability to Britain, and that would be a change from the previous Government. We knew that bringing economic stability would involve tough choices, but even at the election we had no idea of the scale of the mess we would find. Means-testing the winter fuel allowance is not an easy decision, but we must look at it in the broader context. Let me make three points about the situation that pensioners face. First, the pension triple lock is a critical piece of public policy, which makes the state pension genuinely liveable. The triple lock means that pensions increase by £900 in this year alone, and the state pension will increase by over £1,700 over the course of this Parliament. That helps all pensioners. It is absolutely the right decision for the Government to prioritise the pension triple lock, even if that means means-testing the winter fuel allowance. Secondly, the poorest pensioners will still get the winter fuel allowance. I am reassured by the push to increase the take-up of pension credit.