Keir Starmer's winter fuel payment U-turn is empty, says Forbes

Scotland’s deputy first minister has slammed Keir Starmer’s U-turn on winter fuel payment cuts as “empty“.

“There’s no detail to it, there’s nothing behind it,” Kate Forbes said on Wednesday.

The UK Labour Government cut the universal winter fuel payment funding shortly after taking office in 2024.

More than nine million pensioners lost out on payments worth up to £300 after Chancellor Rachel Reeves restricted eligibility for the pension top-up last year.

The decision forced the Scottish Government to follow suit until it allocated alternative funding and announced the benefits would return in winter 2025.

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced a U-turn following what he called improvements to the economy.

“I recognise people are still feeling the pressure of the cost of living crisis, including pensioners,” he said at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.

“That’s why we want to ensure that as we go forward, more pensioners are eligible for winter fuel payment.” he said at PMQs.

Forbes said the statement from Starmer on Wednesday would be “cold comfort” for pensioners facing the prospect of seeing their benefits removed.

“It feels like it’s the latest in U-turns from this Labour Government,” she told STV News.

“He’s not talked about what he will do, and there are no details attached. We will wait to see the details of what the Prime Minister appears to have hinted at today, but it was very short on detail.

Forbes added: “We need to make decisions on the basis of fact, not on perceptions from the Labour Government, and we’re getting on with what we promised – which is to return the winter fuel payment to pensioners who had it removed by Labour.”

The First Minister has also criticised the Labour Government for a lack of clarity.

Speaking on Wednesday, John Swinney said it was “wrong” for the Labour Government to take away the winter fuel payments, but he emphasised that the nation still doesn’t know what Starmer is proposing to do.

“It’s one line at Prime Minister’s Questions, so no amount of humming and hawing from the Prime Minister will detract from the fact that Labour took away the winter fuel payments and the SNP has restored them in Scotland,” Swinney said.