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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had signaled the u-turn last
month after a loud outcry from the public and some members of
his Labour Party who thought the relatively modest 1.5
billion-pound ($2 billion) savings were too politically costly.
Treasury chief Rachel Reeves, who canceled the payment for home
heating on all but the poorest retirees after Labour came to
power last summer, said the benefit would be restored to 9
million people, or three-quarters of pensioners, in England and
Wales whose incomes are below 35,000 pounds ($47,500). Reeves
said the move was necessary last year because the previous
Conservative government had left public finances in a dire
state.
“Targeting winter fuel payments was a tough decision, but the
right decision because of the inheritance we had been left by
the previous government," Reeves said. “It is also right that we
continue to means-test this payment so that it is targeted and
fair, rather than restoring eligibility to everyone including
the wealthiest.”
The payments are worth between 200 and 300 pounds ($271 and
$406) a year. The reversal will cost the government 1.25
billion, Reeve said.
Canceling the payments for most people last winter was blamed
for contributing to Starmer's swift decline in popularity after
his party came to power in a landslide. He was blamed for
punishing elderly people on limited incomes who struggled to
make ends meet during a cost-of-living crisis.
Labour fared poorly in local elections in England last month,
with many party representatives blaming the removal of the
winter fuel payment.
Kemi Badenoch, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party,
quickly pounced on Starmer's about-face.
“Keir Starmer has scrambled to clear up a mess of his own
making," she said. “This humiliating u-turn will come as scant
comfort to the pensioners forced to choose between heating and
eating last winter. The prime minister should now apologize for
his terrible judgment.”
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