Winter fuel U-turn being planned as No 10 talks accelerate ...Middle East

Sir Keir Starmer is poised to reverse changes to the controversial winter fuel payment cut as soon as next month, The i Paper understands.

Talks in No 10 about abandoning the policy have accelerated this week, after focus groups indicated voters would not necessarily bear a grudge against the Government if it performed a partial or full U-turn.

The decision to means test the payment is continuing to damage the party, with Labour MPs saying it was “kryptonite” on the doorstep during local election campaigning last month and reports that voters believe the cut was to help pay for asylum seeers.

Starmer’s team has been weighing up whether it will suffer further electoral losses from the unpopular policy against the potential political embarrassment of a climb down.

The i Paper understands the government is considering whether to increase the £11,500 income threshold over which pensioners are no longer eligible for the allowance, to bring more people into the benefit’s net.

Also being discussed – but extremely unlikely to be agreed – is to reverse the policy altogether.

Last year, the Government decided to restrict the winter fuel allowance payments to those who qualify for pension credit and other income-related benefits, in a bid to save £1.4bn.

The move, which did not feature in Labour’s election manifesto, meant around nine million pensioners no longer qualify for the annual grant, worth between £100 and £300.

The policy, introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves within three weeks of taking office, was aimed at plugging a hole in the previous Conservative administration’s “undisclosed” overspending which Labour claimed created a £22bn blackhole in the nation’s finances.

No decisions have yet been made on when the reversal to the policy could come into effect, with some sources suggesting Chancellor Rachel Reeves could announce the changes as soon as the spending review on 11 June.

Other Government insiders suggested any movement on the policy would have to come at the next big fiscal event in the autumn.

Election losses have forced No10’s hand

No 10 is well aware of the strength of public anger at the winter fuel policy. It dominated the feedback candidates received from voters at the local elections earlier this month, which saw Labour lose two-thirds of the council seats it was defending.

It was also a contributing factor to why Labour lost the Parliamentary by-election in Runcorn and Helsby to Reform UK.

The results have led to growing calls to rethink the policy from senior Labour figures, including Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan.

The Labour Red Wall Group, which represents areas which have traditionally supported the party, wrote to Starmer to tell him it was not “weak” to respond to issues raised by the public.

Labour MPs have also criticised the policy since its introduction.

Meanwhile former Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said Labour’s “unpopular decisions are overshadowing the good ones.”

While until now senior members of the Government had resisted a change to the policy on fiscal grounds and because any U-turn would make Starmer look like he’s flip-flopping, their thinking has considerably altered.

Focus groups now show that the policy is an obstacle to the Government landing any of its other key messages.

Inside No 10, the scales have shifted so that any political and fiscal benefits of keeping the policy in place are now outweighed by the political cost.

No 10 is also looking down the barrel of a potential Labour rebellion next month when changes to welfare face a House of Commons vote, next month.

More than 100 Labour MPs have signed a letter stating their concerns about the cuts, raising the prospect of a parliamentary defeat for the Government unless it changes course.

Labour sources say both a change to the winter fuel allowance and a boost to tackle child poverty could go some way to averting a major rebellion.

Even so, the immediate political cost to changing course is likely to be heavy.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has pressed Starmer to “listen to his own party and change course” while Reform leader Nigel Farage has described the policy as a “terrible mistake”.

There is also a significant political risk to Reeves’ “iron Chancellor” image if it looks like she has been overruled by No 10 on fiscal policy.

So far Starmer has publicly ruled out an outright U-turn on the policy, telling broadcasters last week, “we had to stop the chaos, we had to stabilise the economy.” A Treasury spokesman pointed to Reeves’s repeated denials that she would change course.

The number of pensioners claiming pension credit which entitles them to the winter fuel allowance has risen. According to an analysis of Department for Work and Pensions figures, in the 16 weeks after the announcement last July the Government received around 150,000 claims, compared with 61,300 in the 16 weeks before.

However, many of those new claims were rejected – the number of pension credit claims actually awarded increased by 17 per cent, from 36,400 to 42,500.

But the number of rejected claims rose by a huge 96 per cent – from 27,100 to 53,100.

Read Next

Gary Lineker on the brink of BBC exit after Zionism 'rat' post

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “We had to take tough but right decisions in the budget to stabilise the economy after years of damage and decline.

“As a result of what we’ve done, not only have we got record investment into the NHS which is bringing down waiting lists and delivering 3 million extra appointments in the first 10 months of a Labour Government, with four interest rate cuts and growth figures of 0.7 per cent.

“The decisions we made weren’t easy. But it’s clear they are having the effect of stabilising our economy and allowing our economy to grow, putting more money in the pockets of working people.”

Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Winter fuel U-turn being planned as No 10 talks accelerate )

Also on site :

• Apparent car explosion rocks Palm Springs, damages fertility clinic
• 215 ‘Kiss, Marry, Kill’ Game Questions That’ll Really Get a Party Going
• Iconic Actress, 75, Turns Heads in Rare Red Carpet Appearance