To Prime Minister’s Questions, where Sir Keir Starmer has announced that the Labour lot will in fact reverse parts of the controversial winter fuel payment – just weeks after the reds suffered defeat across the country over the policy in the May elections. Addressing the Chamber, Starmer remarked that ‘we want to ensure that as we go forward, more pensioners are eligible for winter fuel payment’ – confirming that the thresholds for the benefit will be looked at in the Budget. How very interesting…
Speaking to parliamentarians at noon today, the PM confirmed the policy shift, noting:
I recognise that people are still feeling the pressure of the cost of living crisis, including pensioners. As the economy improves, we want to make sure people feel those improvements in their days as their lives go forward, and that is why we want to ensure that… more pensioners are eligible for winter fuel payment. We will only make decisions we can afford. That is why we will look at that as part of a fiscal event.
Speculation about the U-turn has rumbled on for weeks since the disastrous local elections which saw huge voter swings from Labour to Reform – with the ‘party of working people’ losing Durham, the home of the annual miners’ gala, to Nigel Farage’s party. Activists were met with voters’ wrath on doorsteps as they campaigned ahead of the May polls, while various surveys showed just how unpopular the cut to the universal winter fuel payment was. After the locals, pollsters More in Common published data that suggested 60 per cent of Brits would view Starmer more favourably if he reversed the policy, with similar stats reported by YouGov.
The PM’s popularity ratings are in the gutter, while Reform UK is consistently polling alongside if not above the Labour lot. Will Starmer’s announcement today help the party of government win back support? Well, a number of questions remain – namely how many people will benefit from this proposed reversal and when exactly it will come into place. Watch this space…
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