Labour’s winter fuel payment cut has proven one of the most controversial policies brought in by the party since it got into government last summer – and today Chancellor Rachel Reeves has promised the payment will be reinstated to some pensioners by this winter. Speaking from Manchester this morning, the Chancellor said that ‘more people will get winter fuel payments this winter’ and hinted that changes to the current £11,500 threshold would be set out in her spending review next Wednesday.
This doesn’t mean that the universal payment will be making a return, however. Reeves said today that a ‘means test’ would be introduced by the end of the year while pensions minister Torsten Bell has ruled out returning the benefit to all pensioners. The Chancellor added that ‘difficult decisions’ had forced her to introduce the cut last year to ‘restore sound public finances’ – but insisted this morning that the government is now on ‘firmer footing’. There are concerns, however, that the creation of a new means test in time for the winter would be too complex for the government’s computer systems, with ministers also thought to be considering the reintroduction of a universal payment and taking back the money when well-off pensioners complete their tax returns.
Today’s development comes two weeks after Sir Keir Starmer’s mid-PMQs announcement of a partial reversal to the cut. While recent YouGov polling shows that a minority of Britons believe the benefit should be universally restored, the move to make the payment available to a greater number of people is much more popular. It was one of the most frequently discussed issues on the doors in Runcorn and Helsby – the constituency Labour lost to Reform UK in May – and has dogged Scottish Labour campaigners leafleting in Hamilton ahead of this week’s Holyrood by-election.
But whether Labour’s U-turn will bring voters back on side is far from clear. Although More in Common polling has suggested almost two-thirds of Brits say they would view the government more favourably if it restored the benefit, many in the party are of the opinion irreversible damage has already been done. People will remember the initial insult better than the rowback, and in its stubbornness to retain the cut the government has squandered a sizable amount of political capital. Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats, Greens, SNP and Reform UK have all garnered support by campaigning for a return of the universal benefit while the Conservatives have called for the government to widen the eligibility criteria. And while news of Labour’s climbdown will provide relief to some campaigners, it is still unclear just how many pensioners will benefit.
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