Starmer’s blueprint for a tax war on pensioners

Figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility show that in 2010, when David Cameron defeated Gordon Brown, pensioner benefits cost the Treasury just under £86 billion. Stuart Adam, senior economist at the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies, says: “Overall, on average, the older generation, the baby boomers, have done quite well out of the economy and have done quite well out of policies over recent decades, in a way that I’m not sure has been true in decades before.” Professor Sir John Curtice, Britain’s best-known political scientist, argues that demographics, not just politics, are driving Labour policy. “Certainly we have seen public expenditure, relatively speaking, shifted onto older people and tax, relatively speaking, shifted onto younger people.” Taxes on savings and wealth Asked where Labour’s tax rises will land, Adam says: “Given what was said about not raising taxes on working people and the specific promises on income tax, VAT, National Insurance, that suggests that it might look to tax rises on savings and wealth. “We accept that the public finances are in a difficult position and people who can afford to should contribute, but means testing winter fuel payments does not mean taking money away from wealthy people, it means taking it away from everyone but those at the very bottom.” Abrahams argues that taking winter fuel payments away from anyone who does not receive pension credit could end up costing the public purse money, rather than saving it. “We know that people who cannot afford to heat their homes often end up in hospital, sometimes for long periods, and means testing winter fuel payments is going to make that problem worse.” In picking a fight with the Conservatives over taxation, Starmer is trying to set a trap for whoever succeeds Rishi Sunak.