Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of choosing train drivers over pensioners by Rishi Sunak after axing universal Winter Fuel Payments.
Addressing his successor at PMQs, the outgoing Tory leader said Starmer was taking the allowance "away from low-income pensioners" and handing it to public sector staff in "inflation-busting pay rises".
Some 10 million pensioners are set to have the payments rescinded this winter.
At £300 each, scaling back the winter fuel allowance is set to save the Government about £1.4billion - but the move has come under heavy fire.
Campaign groups for the elderly have led the way, with one, Silver Voices, labelling the cuts "callous" and "cruel".
Silver Voices' director Dennis Reed said: "We call on the Government to reverse its callous decision to scrap the Winter Fuel Payment for 10 million older people from this year.
"According to the charities this move will put 2 million older people into dire straits this winter.
"Deaths from hypothermia and other cold-related causes will undoubtedly increase.
"Silver Voices will campaign with vigour to convince politicians that this cruel policy must be reversed and that older people should not be the ones targeted to pay for the country's financial difficulties."
Last week, Starmer had declared: "I don't want to cut the winter fuel allowance.
“I don't think anybody in the government wants to do that. But we've got to fix the foundations of our economy."
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Angela Rayner wants to SCRAP Thatcher policy - after benefitting from it herself
Angela Rayner is weighing up bringing Margaret Thatcher's Right to Buy scheme to an end - despite using it to buy her own home, it has emerged.
Rayner - both the Deputy PM and Housing Secretary - had held "urgent" talks with local authorities in August on housing reforms, and now more than 100 councils have come forward to urge her to repeal Right to Buy.
In a report published just yesterday, London's Southwark Council accused the scheme of contributing to a £2.2billion shortfall in local authority accounts.
The council, which houses more than 1,500 asylum seekers, also claimed Right to Buy was worsening Britain's housing crisis, and had presented "a serious problem for the sustainability of England's council housing".
The Telegraph, which revealed Rayner's plan, was told by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government that it was "working at pace to reverse the continued decline in the number of social rent homes".
That "continued decline" refers to damning statistics across the last financial year in which 10,896 homes were sold through Right to Buy - but a mere 3,447 were replaced, leaving Britain with a net loss of 7,449.
The Thatcher-era scheme lets council tenants buy their homes off their local authorities for a discount of up to 70 per cent.
Since 1991, it has led to a net loss of 24,000 social homes - one being Rayner's own, which she snapped up from Stockport Council for £79,000 in 2007 - a 25 per cent discount, leaving her nearly £49,000 better off.
Shadow housing secretary Kemi Badenoch said it was "no coincidence" that Labour "wants to destroy one of Margaret Thatcher's most transformative policies".
She added: "If Angela Rayner was serious about improving people's lives, she would be finding ways to increase house-building, rather than cutting a programme that gets people on the housing ladder and gives them a stake in their communities."
Government action following Oasis ticket fiasco has already started says Starmer
Labour Co-Operative MP Emma Foody has drawn attention to the outrage across the country at the dynamic pricing used by TicketMaster for fans attempting to buy Oasis tickets.
Starmer responds saying "it's great that Oasis are back together" and jokes that about "half the country were queuing for tickets" on Saturday.
He says he is "committed to putting fans at the heart of music", adding that a consultation looking at pricing mechanisms for gigs has already begun.
Starmer causes outrage as he defends suspending Israel arms licences
Rishi Sunak has moved on to the Government's decision to suspend some arms export licences to Israel.
"Can the Prime Minister explain how his decision will help secure the release of the 101 hostages still being held by Hamas?," he asks.
Starmer says the Opposition Leader "understands the framework" under which his decision was made and that the suspensions were authorised upon legal advice. He says he will share the advice with MPs.
However, the Prime Minister leaves Tory MPs vocally furious as he claims: "This is a legal decision not a politics decision."
Starmer says 'tough decisions' have to be made - but Tories aren't convinced
Rishi Sunak says the UK's public finances are "more robust than almost any other advanced economy".
Defending his own record in office he says the Tories left Labour with "a lower deficit than France, America, Italy and Japan" as well as the "second lowest debt in the whole G7".
He highlights that in 2023 when the Conservatives were in power, pensioners received not only Winter Fuel Payments but extra cost of living support. Sunak says Age UK has warned against the actions being taken by the Government.
The Conservative leader demands the Prime Minister tell pensioners how much worse off they will be this winter.
Responding, Starmer says: "No Prime Minister wants to do what we have to do in relation to the Winter Fuel Allowance but we have to take the tough decision to stabilise our economy to ensure we can grow it for the future.
"As I say we are working hard on pension credit, we're reviewing housing benefit which they didn't do for years, and over five years it's a projected increase of up to £1,000 for those on pensions."
Sunak blasts Starmer over prioritising train drivers over pensioners
Rishi Sunak takes aim at the Government's plans to axe universal Winter Fuel Payments for pensioners inches first question in the Commons.
"He has chosen o take the winter fuel allowance away from low income pensioners and give that money to certain unionised workforces in inflation-busting pay rises," he say.
The Opposition leader demands to know why Starmer chose to prioritise train drivers over pensioners.
Starmer responds saying "the first thing we did was audit the books" upon entering Government, claiming there was a £22billion black hole.
He says Labour has been forced to take "tough decisions" to balance the books.
Starmer says 'thoughts of the whole House' with the Grenfell community
The Prime Minister has opened PMQs by paying tribute to Team GB at the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris.
He also references the tragedy in the English Channel yesterday which saw 12 asylum seekers die.
Saying he would give his full response to the Grenfell Inquiry after PMQs, Starmer adds that he knows the "thoughts of the whole House will be with the bereaved and the survivors" of the fire.
PMQs is about to begin
Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are about to go head to head for the first time since Parliament returned following the summer recess.
The pair will clash at PMQs in the House of Commons with Winter Fuel Payments and reports of Angela Rayner planning to ditch Right to Buy likely to be high on the agenda.
The Grenfell Fire Inquiry is unlikely to feature heavily with Starmer due to address the tragedy separately in a statement at 12.30pm.
Sadiq Khan demands BAN on firms responsible for Grenfell Fire
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said those responsible for the Grenfell fire should be banned from receiving government contracts and urged the Crown Prosecution Service to bring criminal charges against them.
He said: “The Grenfell Tower fire isn’t just a heart-breaking tragedy, it’s a horrific injustice and a national disgrace.
“That the lives of 72 Londoners were stolen from us in such circumstances is a moral outrage.
“The inquiry makes clear in stark terms that all these deaths were entirely avoidable, and that the residents of Grenfell Tower have paid the price for systematic dishonesty, corporate greed and institutional indifference and neglect.”
Starmer vows action after Grenfell Fire report published
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the Grenfell Tower Inquiry report had found "substantial and widespread failings" as he vowed action to prevent similar tragedies in future.
The inquiry’s final report, published today, found the fire was the result of “decades of failure” by central government and the construction industry.
Giving his reaction in a written statement, Starmer said: The Government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations, to ensure that such a tragedy cannot occur again.
“I hope that those outside government will do the same.
“Given the detailed and extensive nature of the report, a further and more in-depth debate will be held at a later date.”
He added: “My thoughts today are wholly with those bereaved by, and survivors of, the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the residents in the immediate community. This day is for them.
“I hope that Sir Martin’s report can provide the truth they have sought for so long, and that it is a step towards the accountability and justice they deserve.”
France demands migrants from ANYWHERE in the EU be allowed to claim asylum in Britain
France has called for Britain to accept asylum claims from within the European Union in the wake of Tuesday's boat disaster which killed 12 migrants.
A number of children were among the casualties after the boat capsized in the English Channel yesterday afternoon - with French authorities declaring most of the dead were from Eritrea or other African countries.
French interior minister Gerald Darmanin has called for a new treaty between Britain and the bloc - all 27 member states of which are designated "safe" nations.
He also lambasted current and former British measures to deal with the crisis, particularly the Conservative Government's Rwanda deportation scheme - which was swiftly binned off after Labour came to power.
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First of six Tory leadership campaigners set to bow out this afternoon
The Tory leadership race is mere hours away from its first casualty, with one of the six candidates vying to replace Rishi Sunak set to be voted out of the running this afternoon.
At 3pm today, Conservative MPs will cast their votes for their choice to lead their party against Labour - and, hopefully, into the next General Election.
Voting is expected to finish at 3pm, with an announcement at 3.30pm.
Badenoch called to axe winter fuel payments in 2022 - despite slating Labour's planned crackdown
Kemi Badenoch called for wealthy pensioners to have their winter fuel payments removed at her Conservative leadership campaign launch in 2022 - despite laying into Labour over their rumoured cuts to the allowance.
Badenoch, currently knee-deep in this year's Tory leadership race, had argued for a "means-tested" approach to the assistance payments two years ago.
Then, this year, she has accused the Government of being "dishonest with the British public" over the move.
Labour says cutting the payments will form part of a number of measures to address the Tories' so-called budgetary "black hole".
But Badenoch has taken flak from rival leadership camps over the comments - one told The Telegraph: "This is terrible... Labour's decision to cut the winter fuel payment was our one effective attack on Labour. They'll seize on these comments!"
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