Prime Minister Keir Starmer has defended making 'unpopular' decisions, saying they are in the best interests of the country
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has defended making 'unpopular' decisions, saying they are in the best interests of the country AFP

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer survived an early test of his fledgling premiership on Tuesday when lawmakers backed his controversial plan to end fuel benefits for millions of pensioners.

The proposed cuts have sparked anger among some MPs within the ruling Labour party and set up the first flashpoint with its union backers since Starmer took office in July.

The furore highlights the challenge facing Britain's centre-left leader as he tries to fix an economy he says was broken by the previous Conservative government while also keeping supporters onside.

Labour announced in July that it would means test the winter fuel allowance, meaning 10 million pensioners will no longer receive help with their energy bills during the colder months.

Starmer admits the move is "unpopular" but insists "tough choices" are necessary to help close a GBP22 billion ($29 billion) "black hole" in the public finances that Labour claims they inherited from the Tories.

The former lawyer is spending much of his first months in power blaming the Conservatives for a dire economic inheritance, but Tory MPs accuse him of laying the groundwork for possible future tax rises.

Starmer has asked Britons to "accept short-term pain for long-term good" but is already coming under pressure to offer the country a less gloomy outlook.

Last month he warned that the government's Budget in late October -- Labour's first official spending plan since it was last in power 14 years ago -- would be "painful".

He saw off any significant rebellion on Tuesday when MPs voted by 348 to 228 against a Conservative motion to block his government's decision to scrap the universal winter fuel payments.

Only one Labour MP voted with the opposition.

It was not immediately clear how many Labour lawmakers abstained but it is likely that several did since the government's normal majority of 167 in the House of Commons was reduced to 120.

"This is not a decision we wanted or expected to make. But when we promised we would be responsible with taxpayers' money, we meant it," work and pensions minister Liz Kendall said ahead of the vote.

The payments are worth GBP300 for some elderly people, and two major unions had called on Starmer to reverse his decision, which the Treasury estimates will save about GBP1.4 billion a year.

Labour maintains that a planned increase in the full state pension from next April will more than offset the removal of the winter fuel allowance.

But Unite boss Sharon Graham accused Labour of opting to "pick the pocket of pensioners" while leaving the richest "totally untouched".

Some 17 Labour MPs had signed a motion put forward by one of its newest members to delay implementing the cut.

The large majority secured during Labour's thumping general election win on July 4 means that Starmer is in a strong position to win votes even on controversial issues.

Commentators say now is the time for him to implement unpopular policies with the next election likely to be five years' away.

Starmer suspended seven of his own MPs in July after they backed a motion demanding the removal of the two-child limit on benefits introduced by the previous Conservative government.