Fiona Bruce put a Labour minister on the spot over winter fuel payments cuts on tonight’s BBC Question Time. The BBC presenter put it to James Murray that axing the allowance for most pensioners came up as a major issue in the local elections.
The moment came as the show discussed Reform UK’s huge gains in last week’s ballots. Ms Bruce said: “Winter fuel allowance, that came up a lot on the doorstep, that’s what lots of your MPs are saying.
“You know lots of Labour MPs, including one former Cabinet minister, are very, very unhappy at the performance of Labour at the moment.
“Keir Starmer is saying we will go further and faster, does that not sound like more of the same?”
The Labour MP replied: “Let me explain to you exactly what I think Keir Starmer meant when he said go further and faster, and certainly how I understand it listening to the electorate.
“When I was knocking on doors in the recent local elections and some people did mention the winter fuel payment and a lot of people would say to me, ‘look it was a tough decision, we know it was a tough decision, we know you’ve had to make lots of tough decisions because of what you inherited, but we want to see the change which making those tough decisions enables’.
“And when Keir Starmer talks about going further and faster, when I talk about that, when we talk about that as a Government, what we mean is look we’ve had to take tough decisions, difficult decisions, because of the mess we inherited, what we need to go further and faster on is delivering the change that enables.”
Ms Bruce pressed: “But crucially not changing course? That’s the key thing, despite the results and despite what you’re hearing on the doorstep?”
Mr Murray said: “It’s not a decision that any of us in Government wanted to have to take.”
Reform deputy leader Richard Tice then chipped in: “So basically you’re not listening to the electorate?”
Labour sparked a huge backlash last year when Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that winter fuel payments would be restricted to only OAPs on pension credit.