If you lived all your life on the left, and built a career as a politician in the Labour party, always pretending to defend the poor citizens of your Kingdom, perhaps once you attained your dreamed premiership you should not start by cutting winter fuel payments for the struggling elderly while at the same time freeing dangerous criminals from jail to make up room.
But that’s exactly what Sir Keir Starmer did, as we reported back in September 2024: SHAME – Labour British PM Starmer and His Hellish Government Scrap Winter Fuel Payments for 10 Million Pensioners While Freeing 1,700 Prisoners, Including Dangerous Ones
Came last Christmas, and while his popularity tanked, citizens sang a chart-topping hit parody carol over the fallout of his heartless policies: WATCH – Anti-Starmer Holiday Parody Song ‘Freezing This Christmas’ that Criticizes Fuel Cuts for Pensioners, Reaches Top of the Charts in the UK – but BBC Still Won’t Play It
After that, even though the PM has been distracting the news cycle with his warmongering in Ukraine, the popular sentiment hasn’t changed, and in the recent local elections Reform UK humiliated the Labour party even in their ‘red wall’ stronghold.
So, finally, after much debate and relentless insistence from inside his Labour party, Starmer announced plans ‘to ease cuts’ to winter fuel payments, in a predictable U-turn following mounting political pressure of recent weeks.
BBC reported:
“More than 10 million pensioners lost out on the payments, worth up to £300, when the pension top-up became means-tested last year.
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir said ministers would change the threshold to allow ‘more pensioners’ to qualify again.”
“The winter fuel payment is a lump sum of £200 a year for households with a pensioner under 80, or £300 for households with a pensioner over 80.
It was previously paid in November or December to all pensioners, but 10.3 million lost out last year after the government restricted eligibility to those who qualify for pension credit and other income-related benefits, to save an estimated £1.4bn.”
The cut led to fierce criticism from unions and pensioner charities, with added pressure to change coming from Labour MPs and councilors who blamed it for the party’s crushing losses at last month’s local elections in parts of England.
“But in a surprise move, Sir Keir confirmed the policy U-turn in response to a Labour backbencher at Prime Minister’s Questions.
[…] Asked by reporters when the changes would take effect, the prime minister’s spokesman declined to guarantee it would be in place this coming winter, but added: ‘We obviously want to deliver this as quickly as possible’.”
Read more:
The post Leftist PM Starmer Forced To Walk Back Winter Fuel Payment Cut for Pensioners After Major Blowback From Voters and Internal Labour Party Rebellion appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.