Liz Kendall, the shadow work and pensions secretary, has labeled the repayment demands on pensioners in Essex as “unforgivable.”
Kendall highlighted the issue of unpaid carers facing crippling debts and prosecution threats due to Department of Work and Pensions overpayments. She promised that a Labour government would investigate these matters.
During her visit to meet pensioners in Thurrock, a Labour target seat in Essex, Kendall encouraged voters to see the party’s promises as the initial steps of a 10-year plan, addressing concerns about the party’s boldness.
Liz Kendall expressed her horror at the findings from the Guardian’s investigation into carer’s allowance, revealing that tens of thousands of unpaid carers, looking after disabled or frail relatives, found themselves owing huge sums to the government without warning after inadvertently breaching earnings rules by a few pounds a week.
Kendall emphasized that a system should be in place to immediately alert people if they breach the strict earnings threshold, which disqualifies them from receiving the benefit. She stressed that this would be an absolute priority for her, as those affected are already at breaking point, caring for their loved ones with minimal support in return. Kendall stated that any repayments must be handled fairly, and if Labour gets into government, they would assess the situation and data to ensure long-term fixes to the system.
She voiced her concern that errors could still be occurring, comparing it to how banks notify customers when they go into overdraft. Kendall wants a similar alert system for carer’s allowance payments to prevent desperate situations for carers.
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has already committed to reforming the carer’s allowance system in his party’s manifesto.
Having recently returned to her role after a routine hip replacement, Kendall noted that she was meeting an electorate with very little hope for what either party could offer them.
She stated that the Labour Party has far bolder plans to achieve over two terms of a Labour government, emphasizing that the way to win back trust is to be cautious with public finances and only promise what can be realistically achieved.
Recalling the 1997 promise to take 100,000 people off the waiting list, which many critics deemed insufficient, she highlighted how Labour eventually ended waiting lists through investment and reform by the time they left office. She stressed the importance of viewing the current campaign as the first steps in a longer journey.
Kendall admitted that the state of the economy and the potential responsibilities of leading the government’s largest spending department kept her up at night. She noted her 14 years of experience as an MP and her awareness of how much people have suffered, stating that many are “absolutely on their knees.”
She acknowledged the significant challenges ahead, sharing that a local resident in Thurrock mentioned the extensive issues that need fixing. She emphasized the party’s understanding of these challenges while also recognizing that change cannot happen immediately.
Kendall said the biggest battle the party was fighting was the despair from voters who believed that any change, even from Labour, was impossible. “People have had the hope kicked out of them,” she said. “I’ve been all over the country since the election was called, and there are so many people who either don’t believe we can make change or who just don’t know.
“And that is our challenge. I have never believed the polls. I know people’s frustrations. I really do. But we will show those first steps as part of a 10-year strategy to renew the country. That is the challenge we face.”
Thurrock, with a Conservative majority of 11,000, is one of several battleground seats in Kent and Essex with older populations. The Tories are attempting to hold these seats with promises to older voters, including a pledge to protect the state pension from income tax.
Older people speaking to Kendall at the community center expressed a range of concerns, including rising rents, energy bills, NHS waiting lists, and caring for disabled relatives.
New analysis from Labour found that tax thresholds frozen under the Conservatives have already cost pensioners £1,000 more on average, and the new Tory pledge would return just a third of what had already been taxed.
“There are twice as many over 65s paying tax during this government’s 14 years,” Kendall said. “And that’s what pensioners here are saying; they’re paying more tax. We have the highest tax burden for 70 years, and the cost of living is going up and up and up. Higher costs of food, higher costs of fuel—that is failing Britain’s pensioners. They need change, and that’s what Labour’s offering.”
