Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir Starmer was pressed on why he was “picking a fight with the pensioners” in a local radio grilling.
The Prime Minister was asked about Labour’s controversial cuts during a round of interviews.
Speaking to Radio Merseyside as part of a round of interviews on local radio, Sir Keir was asked about warnings of more pensioners going into poverty as a result of making the benefit means tested.
Sir Keir said: “Without the change that we’re putting in place at the moment, the allowance goes to everyone, whether they need it or not, and therefore there are many who don’t need it because they’re relatively wealthy.
“And I think most people would say that doesn’t make sense when you’ve got a really, really difficult, tight budget – We’ve got to deliver for our NHS, for our schools, we’ve got to make sure that we’ve got public services that people can rely on, including, of course, pensioners.
“So it makes sense to make the change.”
He said it is “important to protect pensioners who most need the allowance” and urged people who are eligible for pension credit to take it up.