Transcript of 'Titan of Labour' John Prescott was 'all heart', says minister Miatta Fahnbulleh

In your response to the news of John Prescott's passing.

Good morning. Incredibly sad. John was an absolute titan of the labor movement. Heart and soul, labor values, amazing trade unionists, a massive champion of bread and butter issues that matter to working people. This will be a huge loss. For me, the thing that will always stick with me is he was just an authentic politician, said it as it was, was himself, and people loved him for it. Colorful? Yeah, but I The best politicians are. Didn't mince his words, but he was all hot. He would walk into a room and he would light that room up. I was in my youth in the Labor family when he was at the very top of the labor movement and was inspiring to us because... Did you ever meet him? Yes, I've met him. I've been in a room with him, and he always lit up those rooms and just very relatable. The thing that I was inspired by is just the ability to talk politics and issues in a way that just matters to people in a way that connects with them. That is a very, very, very special gift if you have it as a politician.

One of the reasons you went into politics?

Yeah, he was part of that generation of leaders that connected our values to the stuff that matters to people on the ground, pushed for ideas. He was Environment Secretary, made huge progress on things like climate change, made huge progress on things like worker's rights and issues that mattered. So yeah, very Very inspirational for many of us.

Tell me about your warm homes plan.

Look, let me say a little bit about the reason why we're putting this plan in place. The reality for people across the country at the moment is that energy bills feel unaffordable. And the reason they feel unaffordable is because of our reliance and our dependence on global fossil fuel markets we don't control. The abject failure, quite frankly, of the last government to upgrade enough homes and insulate people from these high prices. We are determined to try to fix this. That's why we're to deliver clean power, homegrown power by 2030. A key part of that is this plan to upgrade millions of homes so that we can make them cheaper and cleaner to run. As a first step, we're announcing £3.2 billion in order to upgrade up to 300,000 homes so that we can make those homes warmer and critically to cut those bills, particularly for low-income households. We are expanding our scheme that offers £7,500 off the cost of a heat pump so that we can help people make that transition. We're lifting a million renters out of fuel poverty by improving the standards in the private rented sector and the social rented sector. A package of support that we hope will help people with their bills, will help cut costs and to basically make sure that people are warm and comfortable.

Are you taking winter fuel payments off pensioners?

Listen, the Chancellor had to make a tough call on winter fuel payment, but we've been really, really clear that we're going to do everything that we can to support vulnerable households. Whether that's pensioners or families with kids who are far more likely to be in field poverty, we're trying to support them. That's why we've been working with suppliers to put in place a winter support package this winter. Yesterday, we announced £500 million that suppliers are putting in order to support vulnerable customers. That's an addition to the £500 million for our warm homes discount that will help over 3 million households and help them this winter. But look, the key thing is we've got to help push down bills for the long term. That's why our package of to upgrade homes is so important and why we have to make that sprint to clean power by 2030.

Use some of that £3.2 billion to keep pensioners warm this winter.

Well, listen, we are providing support for pensioners and others. It's really important.

There are lots of people- By your own figures, 100,000 extra pensioners are going to be in field poverty.

And there are lots of people, pensioners, but also there are families with kids that tend to have a higher likelihood of being in field poverty that are worried about bills. We know that. I speak to people all the time I speak to them as a constituency MP, I speak to them in this role, and people are worried. So we are doing everything we can to support a billion pound work of support.

You're not because you're taking the money off pensioners, so you're not doing everything you can at all.

Well, look, we made that decision in order to manage the public finances, but we will also-But you just told me you've got 3.2.

Billion to invest in theirs. Pensioners are freezing. They won't see the benefits of that in 10 or 15 years time, excuse me, many of them. And some of them might not even see next winter unless you help them with their bills. It's freezing outside.

It is freezing outside. And the reason, and we absolutely know that we need to help people this winter. That's why I've been working really hard with the suppliers to put in place £500 million of support. That's credit on bills, That's help with debt. That's to ensure that anyone who is vulnerable, anyone who is worried about bills, anyone that's thinking about disconnecting and not using energy, please pick up your phone, speak to your supplier, get in touch with Citizens Advice because there is support available. That's what we've been negotiating and that's what we've put in place. That's alongside the money that will be going to 3 million households for the warm homes discount. Look, do we need to do more? We absolutely need to do more. The priority, when I speak to people across the country, the thing they say is, We want our bills down. It is too high. It is putting too much pressure on family finances.

So you take money off pensioners?

Which is why, look, we've got to have a long term answer to this.

It's a silly, silly, silly decision to make.

We've got to have a long term answer to this. You say the plans will take a long time. We're trying to get 300,000 homes insulated next year, and that's homes for families on low income that absolutely need hit. For pensioners this year, what I'd say is if you're worried, if you're struggling with your energy bills, please call your suppliers. We've worked really hard with them. They've got an obligation to help customers that are vulnerable.

You have an obligation to look after pensioners who have contributed throughout their working lives to be able to provide the 3.2 billion that you want to in invest. They've worked their whole lives and they can't put their heating on.

Okay, we're putting in a billion pounds worth of investment in order to help customers that are vulnerable. And that is pensioners, but it also households that are just struggling with bills. So that means that there is tangible support for people. Pick up the foam, speak to your supply if you are struggling with your bills. And alongside that, we've got to get bills down for the long term, which is why it's really, really important that we are putting...

Which is more important?

Well, for me, reducing energy bills.

It's more important than keeping pensioners warm.

Reducing energy bills for everyone, including pensioners, is absolutely critical. That's my job. That's the one thing I've been asked by the boss to do. And the key part of that is making sure that we can insulate people's homes, that we can upgrade their homes, because we know from evidence that that's how we get bills done for the long term.

People are worried about this. That's more important than keeping pensioners warm this winter.

Absolutely not. People are worried.

You just said it was.

People are worried. You just said it was. People are worried They're worried about their energy bills this winter. They're worried about their energy bills next winter, the winter after. We need a plan that solves that. We have short term support for people this winter, a winter support package. I would encourage anyone that is worried about their bills, including pensioners, to pick up their phone to their suppliers. But alongside that, we've got to make sure that we're upgrading people's homes so that we are driving down the cost of energy for people so that in the end, for millions of people, we can deliver homes that are warmer and that are cheaper to run.

We're out of time. It's good to see you.Thanks for taking the time. Really good to see you.Thank you.Thank you.Thank you.Thank you.Thank.