Labour announce “u-turn” winter fuel payments threshold to rise to £35,000
News / Mon 9th Jun 2025 at 03:06pm
ALL pensioners with an income of £35,000 or less a year will have the winter fuel payment restored in full, Rachel Reeves has announced, after weeks of uncertainty over the decision to make a U-turn on scrapping the benefit reports The Guardian.
Ministers are restoring the automatic payments as a universal benefit this winter and then recouping the money when higher-income pensioners fill in their tax returns.
The partial reversal means that about 7.5 million pensioners in England and Wales who missed out on the payment of up to £300 last year will now get it, after a backlash against one of the government’s most unpopular policies.
The decision to limit the previously universal payment to all but the poorest pensioners was one of the first announcements by the chancellor after Labour’s landslide election victory last year and had been widely blamed for the party’s collapse in public support.
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Barry
2025-06-09 15:27:30
The supposed financial black hole always magically disappears when it comes to the party polling badly and losing ground to reform. Funny that isn't it.
Adam
2025-06-09 16:19:03
But wait there was a 22B black hole and there was going to be a run on the pound if Rachael did not remove this. She and the rest of this government are completely incompetent and the only reason they are doing this is how reform are doing. It is too little too late for them. They take us for fools.
Ted
2025-06-09 17:31:23
I hope Labour don't think they are doing oaps a favour.
Brian
2025-06-09 19:36:25
What a joke of a government,there won't be a country left after another 4 years of these people.
David Forman
2025-06-10 00:50:20
It is worth noting what the Conservative's Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride said in a Social Security debate on September 10, 2024 related to the general election campaign and Labour's tax and spend manifesto commitments:- "So it was that during the election, we held them to account and pressed them on tax, among other matters... We also pressed them on the winter fuel payment, from which millions of pensioners benefit up and down the country... We received cast-iron assurances from the Labour party. In fact, the then shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the right hon. Member for Bristol North West (Darren Jones)... He said when pressed that the Labour party had “no plans” to do anything in respect of the winter fuel payment. Indeed, Labour candidates up and down the country gleefully pointed to their manifesto as having no mention of doing anything on this particular matter. But look at what has happened in a matter of a few short weeks. What happened to integrity? What happened to transparency? They went out of the window—broken promises already. The special contract that Labour sought to have with the British people based on integrity and decency has been smashed into a million pieces." See Hansard's official record at column 712 on page 21 at https://hansard.parliament.uk/pdf/commons/2024-09-10
David
2025-06-10 06:14:20
Just shows you what a compleat bunch of clowns this Labour lot are incompetent to run the country,
Kim
2025-06-10 18:35:53
Thay only u turned because the back benches rebelled, The fact they did it in first place is unforgivable..now they need to u turn on pip cuts. Because all labour have done is took and took from the people of this country. Disgraceful, watch them tax the pensioners next. Disgraceful government.
Ted
2025-06-10 19:49:20
Not heard anything from Labour lover Tracy since Labour have been ripping everyone off .
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