The Labour MP for Plymouth Moor View, Fred Thomas, has said pensioners have approached him to say they understand about the cuts to the winter fuel allowance.
Speaking on GB News, Fred Thomas said: “I think the mood here in Liverpool is really positive. The incidents have not really played a big part in the day. People are really excited by the first serious speech by a Chancellor we’ve had in a long time.
“I would suggest strong decisions and an actual conviction behind them, rather than politics on the hoof. And yes, there are tough decisions that we’ve had to make because of what we’ve inherited; the mess after 14 years of failure. But those are decisions that nearly everyone here are completely united behind, and so the mood here is much more positive than I think a couple of minor incidents might make out.
“I’m absolutely furious that we’ve had to do this. The economic mess we’ve inherited is a disgrace to this country. I represent hundreds, thousands of pensioners in Plymouth, and people are really angry that the Conservative government, who were in power until just 11 weeks ago, by the way, have left this country with a completely unworkable economic situation.
“And that has forced us to make really hard decisions about identifying who are the most in need of support from the government.
“I completely stand by Rachel’s decision, but I also understand the frustration that’s caused amongst some pensioners who aren’t eligible.
“And look, that’s the harsh reality we’re faced with. We’ve got a really tough mountain to climb as a government, as a country, together.
“We can do it. I’m really optimistic, and I think today marks the first steps of change, beginning and a government who are going to make the tough decisions, finally, not hiding behind popular and unfunded schemes that sound good but end up costing us more.
“I’m furious about the inheritance that we’ve received from the Conservative government. That is what is driving the hard decisions that we are taking as a responsible government, finally putting long term growth first.
“And as I say, I understand my constituents’ concerns, and I’d like to reassure them that the reason the Chancellor has taken, with the Prime Minister, these decisions is because we need bold action.
“We’ve set fiscal rules. What can never happen again is for government to introduce a completely unexamined budget, which we saw the Conservatives do with Liz Truss that crashed the economy.
“That is the price we’re all paying at the moment. I completely, as I said, stand by those decisions, and that’s why I voted for it. But of course, I understand the human impact.
“I’m really confident that come the next election, will have had time, and it is going to require time for this Labour Government to turn the country around.
“Now we’ve had 10 or 11 weeks, so that does not count as enough time to change around a huge economy. You picture turning around a fuel tanker, you can’t do it quickly. Ok? These things take time. These tough decisions are part of that.
“And I don’t for a second sit here and tell you those are easy decisions to make. They’re not. They’re not easy decisions to consume. The reality is really harsh, but that’s what it is. It’s reality. That’s what we’re faced with.
“And so I think that come the next election, in a few years, our community and my constituents and the patch I represent in Plymouth will have had time to see that this Labour government are going to turn the country around.
“Change has already begun, and there’s been so many fantastic things the government has done. I’m really excited to see what comes next. And we always were up front with the nation, and I was up front locally in Plymouth. It’s not going to be overnight. These things do take a little bit of time.
“When we came into government, we were finally able to fully examine the country’s finances, and what we discovered in department after department after department was unfunded commitments by the previous Conservative government. What that represents is a black hole in the economy.
“And at the same time, they had completely avoided really important choices that, frankly, any government needed to do: to keep the NHS running, paying public servants properly, not paying them a lot, just paying them properly. And there were some decisions we had to make.
“And look, I’ve spoken to pensioners in my constituency, and they understand the decision. There is concern about it, of course, because we’re talking about money that people used to have in their pocket, that some of them and bear in mind, the most needy absolutely, will still have the money in their pocket.
“But what other pensioners understand, and they come to me and they say, is okay, labour have completely committed to the triple lock on pensions, which is going to end up being much more valuable to pensioners than the winter fuel allowance.
“So Labour’s completely on the side of pensioners and completely on the side of the economy, because it’s growth that is going to get us out of the situation that the conservatives have left us in. That’s the reality we’re in.”
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