Keir Starmer promised to ensure ‘more pensioners are eligible for the winter fuel payment after bowing to intense pressure to abandon the decision to strip it from millions of OAPs
The winter fuel payment could be restored to all but the wealthiest pensioners under plans said to be being considered by Downing Street.
Keir Starmer promised this week to ensure “more pensioners are eligible” for the payment after bowing to intense pressure to change course.
The Government’s decision last year to means-test the £300 payment – stripping it from more than 10 million OAPs – has proved hugely unpopular with voters.
The Prime Minister said further details would be announced at the Budget in the autumn but did not spell out how many people would be impacted or when it could come into force.
The Mirror understands that the decision to change course was only made on Tuesday – a day before Mr Starmer announced it at PMQs.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer’s child poverty strategy delayed in major setback – ‘appalling decision’
No10 has indicated that a full U-turn on the cut is unlikely. But officials are reportedly examining the option of restoring the allowance to all but the wealthiest pensioners.
One plan on the table is restoring it completely and then clawing it back from the richest OAPs through the tax system, according to the Sunday Times.
Tory Chancellor George Osborne used a similar method when he slashed eligibility for child benefit for the wealthiest families under the Coalition Government. However a decision is not likely to be made until autumn on how to widen eligibility for the payment.
The PM’s decision to change course on the winter fuel cut has triggered speculation about the future of other unpopular policies.
The Government has delayed its long-awaited child poverty strategy until the autumn amid pressure from Labour MPs to axe the Tory two-child benefit limit.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, who is leading the taskforce alongside DWP Secretary Liz Kendall, has previously said the strategy would look at the two-child benefit limit.
Insiders said the decision to push back the blueprint was to align it with the Budget in October.
Tonight, reports suggested the PM has ordered the Treasury to look at how it could pay for scrapping the cap, which could cost around £3.5billion a year.
The PM has made it clear privately that he wants to act as part of his commitment to drive down child poverty, according to the Observer. But a decision won’t be made until the child poverty taskforce reports later this year.
The policy restricts parents from claiming Universal Credit or Child Tax Credits for any children beyond their first two.
Experts say that scrapping the two-child limit would be the most effective way to lift hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty.
READ MORE: Join our Mirror politics WhatsApp group to get the latest updates from Westminster
