BBC Breakfast’s Jon Kay certainly didn’t hold back as he launched into a fiery debate with Ed Miliband following the dramatic winter fuel payment U-turn.
Jon Kay slammed Ed Miliband on BBC Breakfast (Image: BBC)
BBC Breakfast host Jon Kay found himself embroiled in a heated debate with Ed Miliband following Rachel Reeves‘ dramatic turn around on the Winter Fuel payments. On Monday (June 9), the Chancellor announced the long-awaited details of new Winter Fuel Payments this year.
She confirmed that three quarters of pensioners will now get payments of up to £300 designed to help them stay warm in the freezing weather. It means the overwhelming majority of those who lost the money will become eligible again, at a huge cost of £1.25billion in England and Wales. Hours after the jaw-dropping announcement, the 55-year-old broadcaster and his co-host Sally Nugent welcomed the Energy Secretary onto the programme to answer some of their burning questions.
Ed Miliband on BBC Breakfast (Image: BBC)
The dad-of-three began: “Millions of pensioners had a really anxious winter. They told us every morning in our inbox that they couldn’t afford to put the heating on, some told us that their health and their wellbeing had been affected by losing the winter fuel payment. Will you now apologise for this mistake?”
The politician bluntly replied: “Well look, the context to this, Jon is that the Chancellor took a decision last year when we came into office that she needed to stabalise the nation’s finances.
“And the principle that we should pay the winter fuel payment to all pensioners wasn’t correct, that’s why she made the decision she did.
“Two things have happened since then. We’ve stabalised the naiton’s finances and we’ve heard that strength of feeling that you talk about and that’s why she made the change she did.
“I think it’s the right thing that the Chancellor did and I think more important that what you asked is changing the policy, that’s what I heard from people and we’ve changed the threshold. Seven and a half million more pensioners will get it and I think it’s the right thing to do.”
Jon urged the MP to give the country a well-deserved apology for the stress and anxiety the huge changes caused months after they stepped into power last year.
He explained: “But it has caused an awful lot of anxiety and pain and upset millions and millions of people. Our viewers like it when politicians own mistakes and admit to mistakes, and they like it when politicians say sorry.
“Why won’t the Chancellor, why won’t you this morning, just apologise. It’s dead simple.” But Miliband was having none of it, as he threw his support behind the Chancellor, doubling down on his refusal to apologise to the nation.
The MP argued: “Because the Chancellor, and I think she’s right about this, is not going to apologise for a series of measures she took to stabalise the nation’s finances when we came into office.
She was confronted with a situation of a huge black hole in the nation’s finances, the thing that would hurt pensioners and others hugely is the economy going off a cliff.
She took a whole series of measures to stabalise the nation’s finances, now a couple of things have happened since then. She has taken those decisions to stabalise the nation’s finances, she’s got more room to manouver, and she’s heard the strength of feeling.
“That’s why she’s made the changes she has. I’ve been on a few doorsteps where people have raised the winter fuel allowance a lot, but the people I’ve spoken to haven’t said we want her you to apologise, we want you to change the policy. And that’s what we’ve done.”
It didn’t take long before fans flooded to X – formerly known as Twitter – to share their thoughts on the fiery debate online. One user quipped: “If they had to apologise for all their mistakes we could be on for a long while.”
Another fumed: “He’s lying through his teeth! She took the winter fuel allowance off the pensionsers to give more of our cash away to forgeign aid.” A third agreed: “She’ll never apologise, tax rises coming in the autumn statement to pay for this as well! Terrible government.”
