Labour MP deletes tweets saying it’s older people’s “choice” not to put heating on

Today, a Labour MP’s deleted tweet has resurfaced which shows how far detached from reality the party really is – specifically, in terms of the winter fuel payments scandal:

A Labour MP speaks. pic.twitter.com/svZ7KviUaQ

— Tory Fibs (@ToryFibs) September 16, 2024

It seems that it’s not the first time Mr Peter Lamb – who is the MP for Crawley – has deleted tweets:

I posted leaflets for Peter Lamb’s Crawley campaign in 2019 – he was an aloof and miserable git

The people I joined in the cold drizzle told me he’d spent months deleting his social media criticism of Jeremy Corbyn

I later found out he works for lobbyist David Evans.

— ℹ️ Not The Torygraph 💚 #SaveOurNHS #ScrapNHSBill (@TweetForTheMany) September 16, 2024

Winter fuel payments

Labour’s cut to winter fuel payments has caused chaos. As the Canary has been documenting, Charity Age UK calculated that Labour’s move will impact 800,000 older people on very low incomes. Specifically, this is those living on less than £218.25 a week as single pensioners, or £332.95 as couples.

And despite the government’s drive to increase uptake in Pension Credit – the benefit that automatically entitles pensioners to the winter fuel payments – the majority will still miss out this winter.

According to a new equality analysis done by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) back in July, disabled people will be hit especially hard by the cut.

It also found:

83% (2.7m) of those aged 80+ currently receiving winter fuel payments will lose out, compared to 90% (7.3m) of those aged 66 to 79.

Additionally, Age UK estimate that around a million more pensioners less than £50 above the so-called poverty line will be “hit hard”. Meanwhile, in 2017 Labour itself did an impact assessment which found around 4,000 older people could die as a result of means testing the winter fuel payment.

Deleting the evidence

So, in the midst of this winter fuel payment shitstorm, Lamb – who backed stripping pensioners of it by the way – conspicuously took down his post that clearly hasn’t aged well.

Not that it was any more in touch with reality before the winter fuel payment debacle. As one person on X pointed out, above inflation pay increases aren’t all that much on the pitiful amount most claimants receive anyway:

Even a 10% rise of very little is still a little, unlike the big pay rises MPs get. An MP who was elected in 2017 is now about £20k better off… way more than the state pension, and that’s just the pay rise.

— Daisy 💚 (@kentishdaisy) September 16, 2024

For one, Lamb seemed to ignore the fact that many don’t receive the full State Pension anyway. It’s partly why pension credits exist – to top up pensioners on low incomes who don’t qualify for the full State Pension.

But in the first place, the State Pension isn’t actually enough to live on anyway. A 2023 study by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) underscored this cruel reality. The PLSA calculated how much a single person would need for a decent life. The full new State Pension is over £2,000 short of this. And this is if you receive the full amount – for many, it’s still much less.

Obviously, now, his post has taken on a whole new host of issues too.

One is that, as the Canary previously pointed out, lots of people just above the government’s new means-tested income threshold still live in fuel poverty. This can be the result of older people living in energy efficient homes for instance. Or, this might be chronically ill and disabled elderly people. Often, these groups need the heating up, for longer to protect their health, or power medical equipment.

Tories in a red tie, hey?

A Tory MP masquerading as Labour, surely? https://t.co/mKw6w3uIaw

— Politics – #Solidarity rebuild the rebel alliance (@Revoche) September 17, 2024

This is #Labour now. LABOUR. They are the new Tories. https://t.co/ntRzmRyogc

— Allegedly Anna Ⓥ 🇵🇸 mislamonty.bsky.social (@MislaMonty) September 17, 2024

And we thought ‘change’ was coming?

Jesus. We’ve waited 14 years for these? https://t.co/msh5nAuTAH

— Mick Cush (@mickcushion) September 16, 2024

Always keep the receipt

Lamb is yet another Labour politician who can claim MP utility costs for rented accommodation he requires to do his job. He is getting above-inflation increases on his already way above State Pension wage- which happens to be a whopping £91,346.

This is obviously also way above the UK average wage too – which is £33,963. This ranges from £44,370 in London to £31,200 pounds in the North East. So it’s a bit rich of him to be suggesting pensioners should be doing better when they are.

When he is literally raking it in.

No wonder he’s trying to rewrite his own social media history. But unfortunately for him, people on X have the receipts – and they won’t let him forget it anytime soon.

Feature image via Peter Lamb/Youtube