Downing Street was unable to say how many more pensioners would receive winter fuel payments or whether the reforms would be in place this winter. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Sir Keir wanted the changes to be introduced “as quickly as possible”.
It comes after the prime minister said the Government wants to make more pensioners eligible for winter fuel payments. The changes will only be set out at a “fiscal event” – with Rachel Reeves’ autumn budget the first such opportunity unless the Government breaks with its schedule.
Sir Keir’s u-turn represents a huge victory for The Express who led the crusade to reverse Labour’s decision.
Asked if the changes would be in place this coming winter, the spokesman said: “We obviously want to deliver this as quickly as possible, but the Prime Minister was very clear in the House that this has to be done in an affordable way, in a funded way, and that’s why those decisions will be taken at a future fiscal event.”
Officials insisted the pledge to change course was based on the Government’s stewardship of the economy and the public finances.
Asked how markets could have confidence in the Government if it performed a U-turn whenever Labour suffered an electoral setback, the Prime Minister’s press secretary said: “We will only make decisions when we can say where the money is coming from, how we’re going to pay for it and that it’s affordable. And that’s what you’ve heard from the Prime Minister today.”
Media reports had suggested ministers could remove the two-child benefit cap or reconsider their decision to means-test the winter fuel payment for pensioners to placate rebellious Labour MPs.
Finding a mechanism to widen eligibility for the payment will cause headaches in Whitehall, because officials fear that simply increasing the pension credit threshold to which access is linked would also increase take-up of that benefit, wiping out any potential savings.
Sir Keir said the Government had needed to “stabilise the economy with tough decisions” after taking over from the Tories, but that it was now starting to improve.
He said he understood the financial pressures on pensioners, speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions.
“I recognise that people are still feeling the pressure of the cost-of-living crisis, including pensioners,” he told the Commons.
“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.
He said the Government will “only make decisions we can afford” and will therefore look at this as part of a fiscal event. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch challenged him over the “U-turn”, calling him “desperate”.
