Campaigners against cuts to Winter Fuel Allowances have welcomed news of a U-turn by Sir Keir Starmer MP, although are warning the pressure must be kept up to ensure he restores this vital support.
At Prime Minister’s Questions (Wednesday 21 May 2025), Sir Keir Starmer confirmed Labour is rethinking the policy, which saw over 31,000 Torbay Pensioners lose up to £300 of vital support. The Prime Minister stated he now wants to: “make more pensioners eligible for winter fuel payment”.
The “Keep Winter Fuel” petition opposing the cuts was backed by local Conservative Councillors and Campaigners, with nearly 2,000 Torbay residents signing it and thousands of leaflets delivered condemning the cuts. When Sir Keir Starmer refused to change tack, the Conservative Leadership at Torbay Council stepped in and helped over 1,000 Torbay pensioners, who receive council tax support (but not pension credit) with their heating bills last winter.
As well as stripping winter fuel payments from over 31,000 Torbay Pensioners, Labour missed their target for Pension Credit recruitment. This meant hundreds of thousands of low-income pensioners across the UK who were still eligible for Winter Fuel Payments missed out on critical support.
Pressure for a U-turn by the Labour Government has been mounting after it was revealed there were over 100,000 more A&E visits by over 65s across the country last winter.
Kevin Foster said: “Keir’s cuts to Winter Fuel Allowances saw many pensioners on modest incomes across our bay stripped of up to £300 of vital support for their winter heating bills.”
After months of criticism and growing evidence of the impact of this change on older people, it’s welcome to hear Sir Keir Starmer is planning a U-turn. Yet there are still no details of which pensioners he thinks should not have lost this vital support and where he wants to draw the line in future.
We will keep up the pressure on Labour and urge residents to sign the petition if they have not done so already.”
Residents can sign the petition against the Winter Fuel Allowance cuts at: www.keepwinterfuel.com
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