Sir Keir Starmer’s claim that he’s doing a U-turn on slicing winter fuel payments for pensioners because he magically has the money isn’t sitting right with Harriet Harman. In a recent chat with Sky News political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harman pointed out that the Prime Minister only changed course because the original plan was about as popular as a skunk at a garden party. It seems like the poor results from the local elections and the Runcorn and Helsby by-election really pushed Sir Keir to flip-flop on this issue.
The Labour leader had been adamant about sticking to the policy of axing winter fuel payments for over 10 million pensioners, only to make a sudden reversal in his decision during PMQs. Baroness Harman wasn’t buying Sir Keir’s excuse that there’s suddenly more money in the budget thanks to the government’s stellar financial management. She believes that the real reason for the change of heart was the voters’ backlash against the unpopular move. People were just not having it, and that’s what forced the hand of the government.
Looking ahead, the big question now is who will be eligible for the winter fuel allowance moving forward, when they’ll receive it, and when the official announcement will be made. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has been exploring various options for the government to consider, such as a complete U-turn on removing the payment from pensioners not claiming pension credit or setting a higher eligibility threshold. There’s also the idea of households reporting their income directly to apply for the payment or having pensioners do a self-assessment tax return to pay back some of the amount as a higher income tax charge. It’s a bit of a mess, to be honest.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has committed to sticking to just one major fiscal event a year, which means we might have to wait until the next budget announcement for any updates on the winter fuel payment situation. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds mentioned on the podcast that the economy needs to be strong enough for the government to reverse the cuts. So, it looks like we’ll just have to sit tight and see how this all plays out.
