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Sir Keir Starmer has said he wants more pensioners to be eligible for winter fuel payments, in an apparent U-turn on one of the most unpopular policies of the Labour leader’s premiership.
“We want to ensure that as we go forward more pensioners are eligible for winter fuel payments,” the UK prime minister told MPs on Wednesday. “We will only make decisions we can afford.”
“We will look at that as part of a fiscal event,” he said, adding that he would look specifically at the threshold at which people are eligible for the payments to widen participation. The next Budget will be in the autumn.
Labour received a drubbing at local elections in England this month, with the government’s decision to cut winter fuel payments after winning power last year cited as one of the top frustrations raised by voters.
Starmer’s comments mark a sharp reversal just two weeks after Downing Street ruled out making changes to winter fuel payments.
The government has faced continuing uproar over its decision last July to axe £1.5bn in winter fuel payments for 10mn pensioners. The cut limited the benefit in England and Wales to pensioners with incomes under roughly £11,500 a year.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the deeply unpopular policy shortly after taking office, arguing it was necessary to fill a £22bn black hole in the government’s finances left by the previous Conservative administration.
Winter fuel payments are worth up to £300 a year depending on individual circumstances.
There were shouts of “U-turn” from the opposition benches as Starmer announced his ambition to water down the policy on Wednesday.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch described Starmer as a “desperate prime minister” and asked how the hundreds of Labour MPs who voted for the policy could trust him again.
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