Sir Keir Starmer has defended his trip to Brazil amid domestic concerns as he insisted there was a “direct link between the work I do internationally and the impact back at home”.

The Prime Minister told Good Morning Britain that it is “very important” to hold discussions that could “trigger” money into the economy, having spent the last two days at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

It comes amid concerns about the impact of Budget measures on jobs and farms, and changes to the winter fuel payment.

Inheritance tax for farms
Farmers protest in central London (Andrew Matthews/PA)

Asked about people who do not feel able to put their heating on, Sir Keir said: “There’s a direct link between the work I do internationally and the impact back at home.

“You rightly say the central focus of what I am doing here at the G20 is on our economy, on investment into our country.

“It’s very important to have those discussions because that’s the way we trigger the money coming into our economy, to ensure that we’ve got better living standards, people feel better off and, crucially important, we’ve got jobs around the country.”

He also defended money to support Ukraine, as he said that rising energy bills are “a very important domestic reason for being absolutely clear on Ukraine”.

He added: “It is impacting people back at home, and I really get that, people have really struggled with their energy bills over the last three years. I am determined that we will do what we can to bring that down.”

Government estimates released on Tuesday indicated that the squeeze on winter fuel payments will force 100,000 pensioners into poverty in 2026.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall revealed the Government’s assessment of the impact in a letter to MPs, but stressed the figures did not take into account plans to increase the numbers on pension credit.

She told the Work and Pensions Committee: “The latest modelling shows that compared to the numbers that would have been in poverty without this policy, it is estimated that in each year in question there will be an additional 50,000 pensioners in relative poverty after housing costs in 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2027-28, instead.

“The modelling also shows that an additional 100,000 pensioners are estimated to be in relative poverty after housing costs in 2026-27, 2028-29 and 2029-30.”

On the same day, governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey said retailers were “right” to warn of potential job cuts following the Budget changes.

More than 70 businesses – including Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s – have told Rachel Reeves in an open letter that the changes announced in last month’s Budget mean price hikes are a “certainty”.

The letter, arranged by the British Retail Consortium, was also signed by household names including Amazon, Aldi, Boots, B&Q, Currys, Greggs, JD Sports, Marks & Spencer, Next and Primark.

It said: “We appreciate Government’s focus on improving the fiscal situation and investing in public services; we also recognise the role businesses have in supporting this.

“But the sheer scale of new costs and the speed with which they occur create a cumulative burden that will make job losses inevitable, and higher prices a certainty.”