Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer should be held personally responsible if pensioners freeze to death this winter, Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick declared last night.

He also said Chancellor Rachel Reeves should take a share of the blame for the “cruel and immoral” decision to axe winter fuel payments for 10 million over-65s. In a blistering attack, he said the pair must be made to face the consequences because they knew the move would result in vulnerable older people dying prematurely.

Mr Jenrick pointed to Labour’s own research from 2017 which warned that axing support would result in 3,850 extra deaths, he said.

He told the Sunday Express: “It is going to be a very harsh winter for pensioners now. This is Labour’s new winter of discontent. No one can say that Starmer and Reeves didn’t know what they were doing.

“They chose to put the interests of the union paymasters above the interests of poor pensioners and they were warned this would lead to thousands of pensioners dying this winter.”

Mr Jenrick, who is going head-to-head with Kemi Badenoch in the Tory leadership race, spoke out as a YouGov poll revealed one in four pensioners who lose the allowance will keep their heating turned off throughout winter.

And he pledged to make it Conservative policy to reverse controversial cuts that will see all but the poorest pensioners stripped of fuel payments, if he wins the Tory crown on November 2.

Barely three out of 10 people – 28 per cent – would vote Labour if a general election was held tomorrow, according to a Techne poll. And it shows one in five – 19 per cent – now support Reform UK.

Mr Jenrick is sure Labour’s drop in popularity is linked to its decision to restrict the payments – which provide up to £300 in help with heating – while giving the thumbs-up to pay increases for workers represented by militant unions.

He said: “This decision to cut winter fuel payments feels like Labour’s poll tax moment. They have plummeted in the polls.

“They have had one of the worst first 100 days of any new government in history.”

With the campaign to lead the Conservatives in its final stage, Mr Jenrick has the ambition of turning the party into the “trade union for working people and pensioners across the country”.

Pledging to fight a widely expected tax raid that will affect pensioners, he said: “Like most people I hate inheritance tax. This is an iniquitous tax.

“People work hard and save their whole lives and they hope that they can hand something on to their children and their grandchildren. Now Labour want to make an already bad situation far worse.”

Campaigners have made last-ditch attempts to persuade Labour to U-turn on the winter fuel cuts ahead of the Budget in 10 days’ time.

Morgan Vine, of Independent Age, which supports pensioners facing financial hardship, said: “Our own polling revealed 23 per cent of older people in England set to lose the winter fuel payment plan to not turn on their heating at all this winter.

“This shouldn’t be happening in modern Britain. We know the Government has some tough decisions to make, but taking money away from financially vulnerable people in later life surely is not the solution.”

Former pensions minister Baroness Altmann was alarmed at the finding that so many people would not turn on the heating.

“This survey is shocking and troubling and yet more evidence that this decision is a serious error of judgment,” she said.

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said: “Labour’s war on pensioners is becoming increasingly unjustifiable in the face of hard facts that can no longer be ignored. Surely Rachel Reeves must now reverse this decision in the Budget.”

And there is also dismay across the country at the cuts.

Caroline Abrahams, of Age UK, warned of “potential disaster” as the temperature falls. The charity’s analysis found that of the approximately 11.8 million pensioners, 10.7 million will no longer receive the payments – and of these, 1.6 million are already in poverty and 900,000 are “just above the poverty line”.

“The Government needs to find a way to get financial support to the 2.5 million who we estimate will be in most need,” she said,

“Unless ministers change tack, and act quickly, millions of older people on low and modest incomes could be facing potential disaster as the weather chills.”

Rhian Bowen-Davies, the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, said Labour’s decision had created “anger and confusion” and left the nation with a major health threat.

“Cold homes impact on older people’s physical health, affecting a wide range of health conditions and increasing the risk of heart attacks, strokes and respiratory issues”, she said.

The commissioner claimed the speed at which the decision was taken has “left many older people without time to prepare” and that “hundreds of thousands of households will miss out on crucial support they are entitled to as a result”.

Jan Shortt, general secretary of the National Pensioners Convention, urged the Chancellor to “find her moral compass”.

She said: “Already the weather is changing and we know from our own members that in many homes they have switched off their heating already – in some cases a year ago and not used it since.

“They fear falling into debt which is a matter of pride in the older generation.”

Ms Shortt described the winter fuel payment as a “lifeline for older people,” warning that “cold homes kill”.

And she added: “To make an arbitrary cut at pension credit level just before the October increase in energy is cruel and beyond comprehension.”

Urging Ms Reeves to do a U-turn, she said: “There is time for the Chancellor to find her moral compass and ethical principles. Older people still contribute to the Treasury and society – without them communities would struggle.

“She needs to accept the monumental mistake, stop misrepresenting facts, and reinstate the payment before Budget day.”

Eddie Lynch, the Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland, is concerned about the “psychological toll of increased isolation and anxiety”.

He said: “Protecting our elderly citizens is not just a matter of policy, it’s a moral imperative. The Government must act decisively to safeguard those of our most vulnerable population.”

Last night a government spokeswoman said: “We are committed to supporting pensioners – with millions set to see their state pension rise by up to £1,700 this parliament through our commitment to the triple lock.

“Over a million pensioners will still receive the winter fuel payment, and our drive to boost pension credit take-up has already seen a 152 per cent increase in claims.

“Many others will also benefit from the £150 warm home discount to help with energy bills over winter while our extension of the household support fund will help with the cost of food, heating and bills.”

And a Labour source said: “Robert Jenrick served in Liz Truss’s Conservative government that crashed the economy and added hundreds of pounds to mortgage bills. His party mismanaged public finances so badly they created a £22billion black hole and then covered it up.

“This Labour government has been forced to make tough choices to clean up the mess the Tories left behind.”