It may well be the understatement of the year so far, but it’s fair to say that the government’s proposal to means test Winter Fuel Payments has not been well received. That’s perfectly understandable given the impact it could have this winter in meeting household heating costs but also in terms of increasing anxiety for elderly people who shouldn’t have to worry about how they’ll be able to make ends meet.
Unfortunately it’s always been the case that when decisions are made at the centre by government we’re left as local councillors to use our own initiative and put measures in place to mitigate any local impact. A look back at the past 14 years of unnecessary austerity unleashed by successive Tory/Lib Dem governments on our hard-pressed communities proves the point. We had no help at all from the government throughout those harrowing and damaging times - we just got on with it as best we could and continued to work in our communities with what we had.
Bearing that local dimension in mind everyone expected that the Tories, Lib Dem’s and ‘Independents’ in coalition control of Durham County Council would have taken immediate action to put measures in place to limit the impact of the government’s proposal on Winter Fuel Payments.
But that didn’t happen. Instead coalition cabinet members sat on their hands for weeks and then eventually decided it might help to ‘write a letter’ to the government. Not exactly the proactive response the people might expect from their local council.
While we were doing whatever we could to help residents potentially affected by the WFP withdrawal the coalition cabinet took a back seat. It took them until this week to wake up, look around and realise they’d missed the opportunity to actually do something to help. So then, in an attempt to cover the tracks of their incompetence, they pointed the finger at opposition Labour members as a distraction.
To be clear, what the coalition proposed to council on Wednesday morning was far too little and far too late. We’d already seized the initiative to offer practical help to those potentially affected in our own communities so there was no way we were going to put our plans on hold just to give them time to catch up with us and try to save face.
Predictably there’s been a lot of deliberate misinformation circulated on social media about this issue, so what follows is a first hand account of what actually happened before and during the full council meeting held in county hall earlier this week. I’ve also published a draft transcript of what I said at the meeting to try and bring the coalition cabinet to their senses.
To be clear, Labour members of Durham County Council offered members of the Tory-led coalition in county hall the opportunity to join them in their campaign to ensure that no one in the county loses out unnecessarily from the government's proposal to withdraw the Winter Fuel Payment from those pensioners who are not in receipt of Pension Credits.
During the debate we even withdrew our own motion on grounds of similarity, fully expecting coalition members to support our campaign to help pensioners most in need, and at the same time open up dialogue with government decision makers to express our concerns about the impact of the withdrawal plan.
Labour has been running a campaign for weeks now aimed at making sure that those most affected get the help they need as quickly as possible. In other words we've been doing for weeks what the coalition had only just realised needs to be done. It simply wouldn't have made sense for us to take a step backwards just so that the coalition could catch up with us.
As it turned out, the coalition rejected our offer outright, preferring instead to 'write a letter'. That kind of response will come as no surprise to anyone who has witnessed the coalition's performance over the years when they've simply sat back and accepted their own Tory/Lib Dem governments’ savage austerity cuts that have brought local council budgets and public services to the brink of collapse.
Those cuts were underpinned by Tory government corruption and incompetence that ended up crashing the national economy and sending interest rates soaring through the roof just two years go, so it's clear for all to see that we've been heading towards a financial catastrophe for years. That's provides the backstory to where we are today.
However, if the coalition had come onboard with us on Wednesday they might have avoided the inevitable charge of craven hypocrisy from members of the public who expected and deserved a much more vehement response than simply 'writing a letter'. Under the circumstances only direct, practical action will help. Performative grandstanding and crocodile tears from a clapped-out coalition devoid of any urgency will be seen for what it is - opportunism and rank hypocrisy.
This is a draft transcript of the notes I used when I spoke at Wednesday’s meeting:
Whilst we understand the concerns and sentiments expressed in the coalition's motion, what we can’t support are the actions proposed in the final section. And that’s because they come far too late and simply don’t go far enough in addressing those concerns.
Anyone watching this debate this morning is going to expect something a bit more robust than simply ‘writing a letter’. What is needed is dialogue with government ministers and an immediate, coordinated response from this council - not performative handwringing from a coalition that has sat back in silence while their government’s used years of austerity cuts to bring our council budgets and public services to the brink of collapse. Those same cuts - alongside reckless mismanagement of the national economy that sent interest rates soaring through the roof just two years ago - have brought us to the point we’re at today.
Writing a letter simply doesn’t cut it. Writing a letter won’t reverse the catastrophic impact of successive Tory governments pandering to wealth and privilege while the rest of us are left behind. What we need is direct practical action, and that is exactly what this amendment demands.
People watching the debate this morning are bound to question the motives of the coalition in tabling this motion today. Whilst Labour has been in opposition for the past three and a half years we’ve given the coalition plenty of opportunities to support us in kicking-back against Tory government excess. We got nothing in return.
In fact, three years ago this week we tabled a motion condemning the Tory government’s decision to remove £20 each week from Universal Credit claimants – that comes to £1000 each year snatched away from vulnerable families and children – that is indeed heartless, unforgivable, and profoundly unfair as the Tories and Lib Dem’s themselves have admitted this morning. What we got in return from coalition members at the time is pretty much mirrored in their motion this morning. And the impact is guaranteed to be the same. Nothing will change.
Never forget. We are where we are today because past Tory governments have failed us.
What we need to do now is open up dialogue with decision makers, not simply ‘write a letter’ then pat one another on the back and fool ourselves that we’ve done our best. The people of County Durham will expect a more animated response from their local councillors, not performative nonsense designed to catch the headlines or pick up a few clicks on social media posts.
So write your letter if you think it’ll achieve anything, but we will not be playing along with any puerile party-political games at a time when we are focused entirely on providing solutions. Our residents need practical, effective measures. Members on this side of the aisle (Labour) started that process weeks ago, so this morning we will not be taking a step backwards to support the coalition’s motion.
The people we represent deserve better than empty rhetoric from a coalition that has barely lifted a finger in defence of the hard-pressed people of this county throughout 14 arduous years of damaging Tory austerity. We’re not falling for this sham of a motion, and neither should anyone else.
I urge all members this morning to support Labour’s amendment. Put away your pens and instead join us in actually doing something to help our residents.
After the coalition rejected our invitation for them to join us in our campaign we had no option other than to abstain on their substantive motion - and that’s because we were already doing what they were asking us to do. It’s as simple as that.
As local activists we have built well established connections in our towns and villages and we’ve got many years of experience in dealing with issues like this. We are not prepared to take any lectures from coalition members who sat back with their feet up while we fought back for years against government incompetence, corruption and spiteful austerity cuts aimed at bringing our communities and public services to their knees.
If they think ‘writing a letter’ will make any difference they can crack on. We’ll continue to work in our communities to get help as quickly as possible to anyone who needs it.
