Starmer Reverses Cut to UK Winter Fuel Subsidy That Hurt Labour
Keir Starmer's government said more than three-quarters of pensioners in England and Wales will receive cold weather fuel payments this winter, reversing the bulk of a cut to the benefit that many of his lawmakers blamed for the ruling Labour Party's waning popularity.
Pensioners with an income of £35,000 ($47,500) or below will be eligible to receive winter fuel payments this year, the Treasury said in an emailed press release Monday, ahead of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves' spending review on Wednesday. That amounts to some nine million people according to Britain's finance ministry, and compares to an estimate of just 1.5 million for the past winter.
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