Sir U-Turn strikes again as Keir Starmer announced today a backtrack on the winter fuel allowance as he faces a growing rebellion among Labour MPs amid a slump in the polls. The Mail has more.
Taking PMQs, Sir Keir defended the decision to strip nine million older people of the payments soon after taking power.
But he said “as the economy improves” the Government will look at the threshold for receiving the cash – worth up to £300.
He suggested the detail will only be announced at “a future fiscal event” – with the next one the Autumn Budget. That typically happens in November or even December, raising doubts about whether the shift will happen for this winter.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir dodged on whether taxes might have to rise again to fund the volte face, after it emerged Angela Rayner has been pushing for more hikes on savers and the wealthy.
Only those on pension credit are still entitled to winter fuel, with the measure partly blamed for the disastrous crash in the Government’s popularity.
A poll today [from More in Common] showed Reform eight points ahead of Labour in the wake of its local elections surge.
Sir Keir has been facing the threat of a revolt over that policy, as well as curbs to working age benefits.
There has been growing speculation that the leadership is looking for a way out, potentially by scaling back the cuts.
But it is thought there are practical difficulties with lowering the threshold for receiving winter fuel allowance, with IT systems struggling to differentiate between income levels.

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