𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Campaigners and MPs are demanding assurances that Sir Keir Starmer’s partial u-turn over winter fuel payments will be put into effect before pensioners endure another cold winter. The Prime Minister faces calls for clarity after indicating the means-test threshold for payments of up to £300 will be increased, so that more elderly people receive the money. He has failed to reveal what the new threshold will be or when the change will come into effect, saying only that details will be announced at a “fiscal event” such as the autumn Budget statement.

There are fears pensioners could have to wait for more than a year for payments to be reinstated because changes will be delayed by ageing Whitehall computer systems. Some Labour MPs are urging the Prime Minister to perform a full u-turn and return to a system where every pensioner gets the benefit. The decision to impose means-testing was one of the first announcements by Chancellor Rachel Reeves after Labour’s landslide election victory last year.

Conservative leader Badenoch has written to the Prime Minister demanding to know whether the reversal would “come into effect in time for payments to be made for this winter”, given a budget could be “six months away”.

In her letter, she warned: “Pensioners are typically living on fixed incomes. They need to be able to plan ahead. We have heard from many who have suffered through the past winter as a result of your Government’s callous decision to remove their winter fuel payments. Some have had to choose between heating and eating.”

And Labour MP Rachael Maskell, a vocal critic of the means-testing policy, warned: “It could mean that people would then go cold for a further winter.”

Former Labour Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said Sir Keir risked creating a new row because any new means-testing threshold would still create winners and losers. He said: “If they simply say, ‘let’s adjust the threshold, let’s raise the threshold from, say, 11,000 to 13,000’ you’re still going to have the same cliff edge problem, people losing £300 if their income goes up by £1. … that is politically a mistake.”

Campaigners the National Pensioners Convention called for the reinstatement of the winter fuel payment for all pensioners and some Labour MPs were last night publicly urging the Government to scrap means-testing entirely. Backbencher Brian Leishman said: “I would like ideally, everyone to receive the full payment.”

Another campaign group, Later Life Ambitions, said any new threshold must be high enough to ensure cash went to every pensioner that needed it and suggested a means-testing threshold of £31,000.

Spokesperson Sally Tsoukaris said: “We don’t support means-testing, but it appears the Government is unwilling to carry out a full U-turn.

“As a result we are urging the Chancellor to increase the threshold to a reasonable level.”

There was open frustration in Labour ranks after Keir Starmer’s MPs were ordered to defend the policy for months, only for the Prime Minister to announce changes following disastrous local election results on May 1.

Cat Eccles, a Labour MP first elected in 2024, said she raised concerns privately with the Chancellor last year. She told Times Radio: “It’s only now or down the line after we’ve had those local election results that all of a sudden, they’re all ears to their MPs.”

She added: “Why have we just been put through this drama for the last nine months?”

Backbenchers worried about other policies such as cuts to disability benefits are now stepping up calls for more u-turns.

Left-winger Ian Lavery, a former Labour Party Chair, said: “The government must urgently re-think not only its position on the Winter Fuel Allowance but its entire direction of travel.”

And Diane Abbott, another left-wing MP, said: “The Labour leadership should review other planned cuts. They are an attack on the most vulnerable and they damage Labour too.”

Announcing the change of direction on Wednesday, Sir Keir said he understood “that people are still feeling the pressure of the cost-of-living crisis, including pensioners”.

He added: “As the economy improves, we want to make sure people feel those improvements in their days as their lives go forward. That is why we want to ensure that, as we go forward, more pensioners are eligible for winter fuel payments.”