It was her admission that Labour will review their policy
on pensioner benefits ahead of the next election.
«David Cameron's official spokesman warned yesterday that
pensioner benefits such as the winter fuel allowance are facing cuts — undermining the Prime Minister's election pledge to preserve the handouts.
Whether it's the minimum wage or a variety
of pensioner benefits, the coalition has accepted a significant shift of the political pendulum.»
Since the winter fuel allowance is the most expensive of the
main pensioner benefits (costing # 2.2 bn last year) it seems equally likely that free bus passes (# 1bn) and free TV licences (# 600m) will similarly be protected.
We currently have a Tory leadership
defending pensioner benefits against all - comers while fighting for child benefit cuts on the grounds that «it is very difficult to justify continuing to pay for the child benefit of the wealthiest 15 per cent of families in society».
But a Downing Street source tells today's Daily Mail that the PM is «minded to repeat the pledge» (which has
seen pensioner benefits protected throughout this parliament) and that he remains personally committed to preserving the benefits for all pensioners, not just the poorest.
The Chancellor says he will prioritise further cuts to the housing benefit budget before making any changes to
universal pensioner benefits.
Hughes issued a blunt warning to the Tories that the government would break up if
key pensioner benefits in the coalition agreement were cut.
Most Conservative MPs, with elderly constituents who are assiduous voters, support David Cameron's pledges to
protect pensioner benefits and some would have defeated attempts to remove them.
But the most significant moment of the session was undoubtedly Cameron's response to a question
on pensioner benefits.
Means -
tested pensioner benefits will be swept away to fund this new «citizen's pension» and the reform will, it is said, be funded by the later retirement age and abolishing the complex bureaucracy that administers the humiliating process of form - filling that stands between pensioners and top - up benefits.
The pensioners» manifesto also included commitments on inheritance tax, annuities,
pensioner benefits and same - day GP appointments for all over 75s who need them.
The Daily Mail and Times (#) are among the newspapers to confirm last week's story that Downing Street has decided to revisit David Cameron's election time pledge to protect
all pensioner benefits such as the Winter Fuel Allowance.
«This will mean that, following the next election, disability benefits,
pensioner benefits and pensions themselves will need to be considered.
There would certainly be further welfare cuts (Osborne has previously declared that he hopes to cut «billions» more from the budget), but
pensioner benefits would not be first in line.
As Hughes spoke in the Commons, the work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, indicated that
pensioner benefits could be threatened.
Numbers 10 and 11 fear a U-turn on
pensioner benefits could cause problems not unlike the Liberal Democrats» U-turn on tution fees.