| Forum Reply | Paul Waugh at 13:45 11 Sep 2024
Rachel Reeves has defended her decision to claim £4,400 to heat her second home a day after MPs voted to scrap winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners. The Chancellor justified the taxpayer-funded expenses bill as pensioners prepare to lose the payment of up to £300. More than 50 Labour MPs defied Sir Keir Starmer on Tuesday and refused to vote for his plan. Rachel Reeves claimed £4,400 of taxpayer cash towards her energy bills. In the past five years alone, she has claimed £3,700, Telegraph analysis reveals. Asked whether it is fair that taxpayers cover the heating bill on her second home, the Chancellor told GB News: “Well, being a constituency MP means that you have to have a house in London as well as, of course, living in the constituency, and that’s the same for all MPs. “Those are long standing rules. I am determined to ensure that the poorest pensioners are protected and will still get winter fuel payments, and indeed, to ensure that pension incomes continue to increase with the triple lock.” |