Tue, 10 Jun 2025

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 PM denies bowing to political pressure over winter fuel

Sir Keir Starmer says his decision to give more pensioners the payment was the result of an improving economy.
The Labour government's decision to withdraw the payments from all but the poorest pensioners was reversed after pressure from charities, unions, and backbench MPs. Under the revised policy, nine million pensioners in England and Wales with an annual income of £35,000 or less will receive the payment this winter. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has defended the government's decision, saying that the change is a "relatively small amount of money" and can be accommodated in the autumn Budget. However, critics have pointed out that the policy will cost around £1.25bn, and that the government has failed to provide answers on how it will pay for the U-turn. The Liberal Democrats have called for the payments to be backdated to those who are now eligible, while the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank has questioned the effectiveness of the policy in reducing poverty. The Resolution Foundation has also warned that the U-turn will create "new complexity" in the tax system and administrative costs will outweigh any savings. Labour MPs have welcomed the U-turn but renewed their calls for the government to rethink other cuts, including changes to disability payments and the two-child benefit cap. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has promised to set out his government's strategy on child poverty "later in the year", ahead of the Spending Review.
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