Opponents blast the Prime Minister after he fails to give clarity on the benefit for pensioners
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised over his approach to winter fuel payments (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of presiding over chaos after he admitted he was still unable to reveal how many pensioners will get their winter fuel payments back. Asked when pensioners would know whether they can expect payments this year or not, he said: “The sooner we have clarity on that, the better.”
Critics said the comments showed “the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing”. No 10 is scrambling to develop proposals to ensure millions more pensioners receive vital winter fuel payments of up to £300 after Sir Keir announced a partial U-turn of the decision to impose means-testing, which robbed more than nine million pensioners of the payments
The Prime Minister has hinted that the means-testing threshold will be lifted so that more pensioners can receive the money. However, the Government has failed to reveal what the new threshold will be or whether the change will come into effect this year.
Asked for more details, the Prime Minister told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I want to look again at where the threshold is. That’s for sure. I’ll be clear with you.
“In relation to that, I do think it was our duty to stabilise the economy and to fill in that £22billion black hole. And I’m not going to resile from that.”
Ministers “need to be absolutely clear where the money is coming from” before they set out details of a partial U-turn on the winter fuel payment, Sir Keir said.
He added: “But I take your point, which is that if we want to look again at which pensioners are eligible, then the sooner we have clarity on that, the better.”
Responding to the Prime Minister’s comments, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said: “The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. No 10 needs to pick up the phone to No 11 and announce the details of their apparent U-turn without further delay.
“Keir Starmer needs to urgently get a grip and confirm that the changes will be in time for this winter, so pensioners can plan their finances and know they’ll be warm this winter.
“It’s the least they deserve after the Government cruelly stripped away this vital support for so many without any notice.”
The Government could potentially provide details of the U-turn when the Chancellor delivers a spending review statement to Parliament on June 11, but pensioners could have to wait until a full Budget statement in the autumn.
