Will ANYONE say sorry for Labour’s winter fuel chaos? Ed Miliband is latest minister to refuse to apologise for axing pensioners’ cash before U-turn
Ed Miliband today insisted Labour is ‘not going to apologise’ for axing winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners before being forced into a humiliating U-turn.
The Energy Secretary repeated the Government’s claim that cutting the handout – worth up to £300 a household – last winter was needed to ‘stabilise the economy’.
In one of Rachel Reeves‘ first acts as Chancellor in July, she stripped winter fuel payments from all but the poorest pensioners by introducing a means test.
Her decision to axe the handout for around 10 million retirees sparked a fierce backlash and has been blamed for Labour’s dire local elections performance in May.
Ms Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer have now partially reversed the decision and restored winter fuel payments for anyone with an income of under £35,000 a year.
But, despite having repeatedly attacked opponents for making ‘unfunded’ spending pledges, the Chancellor has refused to say how she will pay for the £1.25billion cost of the U-turn.
Government figures are also dodging calls for them to apologise for the original decision to slash the number of pensioners eligible for the payment.
Speaking to Times Radio this morning, Mr Miliband said: ‘We’re not going to apologise for the actions we took to stabilise the economy.
Ed Miliband insisted Labour is ‘not going to apologise’ for axing winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners before being forced into a humiliating U-turn
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, after revealing the details of Labour’s U-turn yesterday, also declined to say sorry to pensioners
Pensions minister Torsten Bell ignored repeated demands to apologise to pensioners in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon
‘The Chancellor came into office, saw a massive black hole in the nation’s finances. She took a whole series of measures,’ the Energy Secretary added.
‘Now, what’s happened since then is two things. One, we have stabilised the public finances and secondly, we’ve listened to people.
‘Now, we haven’t changed the principle that the winter fuel allowance should be means tested.
‘But we have listened to people on the threshold of how high the threshold should be for qualification.
‘Personally, I think it’s the right thing that the Chancellor has done. We have listened and we’ve changed the policy.’
Mr Miliband also insisted he had ‘talked to lots of people on doorsteps about the winter fuel allowance’ and ‘can’t remember anyone who said, you should apologise’.
Ms Reeves, after revealing the details of Labour’s U-turn yesterday, also declined to say sorry to pensioners.
Asked if she would apologise for causing ‘unnecessary anxiety and hardship’, the Chancellor told ITV News: ‘The irresponsible thing to have done last year was to allow the public finances to carry on on an unsustainable footing.
‘That would have resulted in interest rates going up, costing families and pensioners more in mortgages and rents.’
She added: ‘I’m always going to put stability in our economy first.’
Pensions minister Torsten Bell also refused to apologise despite facing repeated demands to do so in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon.
Instead, Mr Bell went on the attack against the Tories as he referred to former PM Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget.
In reply to Conservative MP Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, he said: ‘She talks about an apology. She comes here representing the party of Liz Truss and lectures anybody else about apologies.
‘She comes here representing the party of flatlining wages, rising debt and a 200,000 increase in pensioners in poverty, and asks anybody else to apologise.
‘I have never heard such nonsense.’
Tory MP Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, told GB News this morning it ‘would be good’ if Ms Reeves said sorry.
But he added: ‘I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one, a terrible Chancellor, she’s made a series of catastrophic decisions, even in her first year in office.
‘And what a shower of a Government that they’re doing these U-turns.’
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Ed Miliband today insisted Labour is ‘not going to apologise’ for axing winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners before being forced into a humiliating U-turn.
The Energy Secretary repeated the Government’s claim that cutting the handout – worth up to £300 a household – last winter was needed to ‘stabilise the economy’.
In one of Rachel Reeves‘ first acts as Chancellor in July, she stripped winter fuel payments from all but the poorest pensioners by introducing a means test.
Her decision to axe the handout for around 10 million retirees sparked a fierce backlash and has been blamed for Labour’s dire local elections performance in May.
Ms Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer have now partially reversed the decision and restored winter fuel payments for anyone with an income of under £35,000 a year.
But, despite having repeatedly attacked opponents for making ‘unfunded’ spending pledges, the Chancellor has refused to say how she will pay for the £1.25billion cost of the U-turn.
Government figures are also dodging calls for them to apologise for the original decision to slash the number of pensioners eligible for the payment.
Speaking to Times Radio this morning, Mr Miliband said: ‘We’re not going to apologise for the actions we took to stabilise the economy.
Ed Miliband insisted Labour is ‘not going to apologise’ for axing winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners before being forced into a humiliating U-turn
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, after revealing the details of Labour’s U-turn yesterday, also declined to say sorry to pensioners
Pensions minister Torsten Bell ignored repeated demands to apologise to pensioners in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon
‘The Chancellor came into office, saw a massive black hole in the nation’s finances. She took a whole series of measures,’ the Energy Secretary added.
‘Now, what’s happened since then is two things. One, we have stabilised the public finances and secondly, we’ve listened to people.
‘Now, we haven’t changed the principle that the winter fuel allowance should be means tested.
‘But we have listened to people on the threshold of how high the threshold should be for qualification.
‘Personally, I think it’s the right thing that the Chancellor has done. We have listened and we’ve changed the policy.’
Mr Miliband also insisted he had ‘talked to lots of people on doorsteps about the winter fuel allowance’ and ‘can’t remember anyone who said, you should apologise’.
Ms Reeves, after revealing the details of Labour’s U-turn yesterday, also declined to say sorry to pensioners.
Asked if she would apologise for causing ‘unnecessary anxiety and hardship’, the Chancellor told ITV News: ‘The irresponsible thing to have done last year was to allow the public finances to carry on on an unsustainable footing.
‘That would have resulted in interest rates going up, costing families and pensioners more in mortgages and rents.’
She added: ‘I’m always going to put stability in our economy first.’
Pensions minister Torsten Bell also refused to apologise despite facing repeated demands to do so in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon.
Instead, Mr Bell went on the attack against the Tories as he referred to former PM Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget.
In reply to Conservative MP Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, he said: ‘She talks about an apology. She comes here representing the party of Liz Truss and lectures anybody else about apologies.
‘She comes here representing the party of flatlining wages, rising debt and a 200,000 increase in pensioners in poverty, and asks anybody else to apologise.
‘I have never heard such nonsense.’
Tory MP Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, told GB News this morning it ‘would be good’ if Ms Reeves said sorry.
But he added: ‘I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one, a terrible Chancellor, she’s made a series of catastrophic decisions, even in her first year in office.
‘And what a shower of a Government that they’re doing these U-turns.’
