UK politics live: Starmer U-turns on winter fuel payments but millions could still miss out this year

The government has been accused of declaring a “war on employers across this land from the ramparts of Westminster”.

Conservative shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said Labour has imposed “taxes they promised would never come”, but business minister Gareth Thomas said the Conservative Party is trying to make the country believe it is living in an “alternate reality”.

During his party’s opposition day motion on business and trade, which calls on the Government to “urgently change course”, Mr Griffith told the Commons Labour doesn’t “understand business”.

He said: “Running or investing in a business at its core is a profound act of human courage – the triumph of optimism over inertia, a mindset of solving problems yourself rather than waiting for permission from others, embracing risk knowing there’s no guarantees, no bailouts, no-one is coming to rescue you.”

He later said: “It should be the Government’s job to get out of their way, to help the business builders not the blockers, but this Labour Government understand none of this.

“Instead of leaving business to get on and flourish, they’ve erected a blockade of bureaucracy and taxes they promised would never come.

“They’ve declared war on employers across this land from the ramparts of Westminster.”

If you’re just joining us, here is a recap on Sir Keir Starmer’s winter fuel payment U-turn:

• The PM signalled a partial U-turn over the government’s decision to strip winter fuel payments from millions of pensioners at PMQs today.
• He said that “as the economy improves” he wanted to look at widening eligibility for the payments worth up to £300.
• However, officials were unable to say how many more pensioners would be eligible or if the policy would be altered in time for this winter.
• The government insisted the policy was necessary to help stabilise the public finances, allowing the improvements in the economic picture which Sir Keir said could result in the partial reversal of the measure.
• Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch challenged Sir Keir in the Commons, calling him “desperate” and asking how the public could trust him again.
• The Prime Minister’s official spokesman was unable to give details about how Sir Keir would deliver on his promise or how many pensioners would benefit.
• Officials fear that simply increasing the pension credit threshold would increase the take-up of that benefit, wiping out any potential savings.

The apparent winter fuel payment U-turn also “underlines the need for more ambition on tackling child poverty”, a think tank said.

The Resolution Foundation warned this announcement must not be used “as an excuse to duck sensible changes” on welfare reform and lifting the two-child benefit limit.

Ruth Curtice, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: “The Government’s partial U-turn on Winter Fuel Payments may be welcomed by pensioners but it leaves huge questions about how support can be extended, and who will get it.

“A sensible way forward would be to extend support to pensioners receiving housing and disability benefits, as well as Pension Credit. This is affordable at £300 million and would benefit more than a million families.

“But today’s announcement must be seen in the context of the Government’s wider welfare trilemma as it also steers through controversial health and disability benefit reforms and prepares a new child poverty strategy.

“This U-turn underlines the need for more ambition on tackling child poverty. Removing the two-child limit on support would allow the Government to show it is committed to raising living standards for all generations, and not just those beyond working age.”

Kemi Badenoch has said it is a “joke” to say that Sir Keir Starmer’s partial u-turn on winter fuel payments is a reaction to the economy improving.

“That’s a joke. We just had inflation figures this morning. It shows that inflation has doubled since they took office from the Conservatives. He is not running the economy well,” the Conservative Party leader said.

She said she would like to see a change that means pensioners getting £11,000 to £15,000 a year getting winter fuel payments.

She said it will be “too late” if Sir Keir waits until the autumn budget to set out the details.

“If he’s waiting until the budget it means that people are going to lose their winter fuel payment for another year,” she said.

The Conservatives would not support tax rises to fund extending winter fuel payments, she said.

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, welcomed the prime minister’s pledge to review winter fuel payments but warned that “the devil is always in the detail”.

She criticised last year’s means-testing, which left many low-income pensioners without support and led to “significant numbers of older people too frightened to turn on their heating”, putting their health at risk.

“If nothing changes, next winter threatens to be just as bad,” she said, urging the government to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

Ms Abrahams called for ministers to “put similar amounts of money back into the pockets” of pensioners who lost out and to restore confidence among older people in their ability to afford heating.

She highlighted concerns for those entitled to Pension Credit but not claiming it, people on just above-threshold incomes, and those with serious health conditions who face high heating costs—an estimated 2.5 million people in total.

Ms Abrahams said success should be judged by how well new policies help “vulnerable older people and those on low and modest incomes to heat their homes adequately next winter”.

After spending months ruling out a U-turn, it looks likely that the decision has come as a result of intense political pressure amid poor approval ratings and the threat of rebellion from Labour backbenchers.

Our Political Correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Robert Jenrick has criticised Sir Keir Starmer over his apparent U-turn on winter fuel payments.

Writing on X, the shadow cabinet minister said: “His [Sir Keir’s] £22bn ‘black hole’ has been exposed as an invention to justify the cruel decision to cut winter fuel for the most vulnerable.

“The Conservatives won’t let him get away with breaking his promises to the British people.”

Dr Carole Easton OBE, Chief Executive at the Centre for Ageing Better, welcomed the prime minister’s move to revisit “the restrictive eligibility” for winter fuel payments, saying it could help more pensioners stay warm and protect their health this winter.

She said government changes last year removed support from over 2.5 million pensioners “living on incomes insufficient to support a dignified standard of living”.

While there’s “a case to be made” for removing payments from wealthier pensioners, Dr Easton said ministers “went too far” by limiting them to people on Pension Credit— excluding many who still “desperately need it”.

“This was a poor decision on a human level,” she said, warning that it created “an avoidable crisis” and would likely backfire financially, as cold homes lead to increased health costs.

The dangers, she added, are “very real”, contributing to thousands of deaths each year and harming people in various ways.

In the short term, Dr Easton called for widening eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments to more low-income pensioners. But longer term, she said the root issues must be addressed: “We have some of the highest energy bills and least energy efficient homes in Europe.”

She urged the government’s upcoming Housing Strategy to set out clear plans to fix cold, poor-quality homes and include “sufficient, long-term funding” for accessible local support to improve home energy efficiency.

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 Starmer wanted the changes to be introduced “as quickly as possible”.

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.

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.”

The Tories appear to be in total disarray over winter fuel payments, with Kemi Badenoch’s official spokesperson failing to commit to reversing the policy despite pressing for Labour to do so.

The spokesperson said the party wouldn’t have cut winter fuel payments in the first place, but pressed on whether they would commit to reversing the policy, he refused to be drawn.

“I’m not going to write economic policy here”, he insisted.

It comes despite the party repeatedly calling for Sir Keir Starmer to reverse the policy.