Latest news with #WinterFuelAllowance
Daily Mirror
01-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Pensioners born before certain year entitled to £100 payment increase
The payments will be made to all state pensioners who are eligible to claim the Winter Fuel Payment, with most people set to receive their cash in November or December 2025 State pensioners are in line for a £100 boost to their Winter Fuel Allowance, thanks to a Labour Party government initiative that will benefit nine million elderly individuals. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Labour have pledged to distribute £200 payments to state pensioners born before 1959. However, those born before 1945 - therefore aged 80 and above - are set to receive £300, marking a significant £100 increase. Eligible pensioners residing in England and Wales who qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment during the winter season of 2025-26 will be notified via letter in October or November 2025 detailing the amount they will receive. The sum awarded will depend on the individual's birth date and circumstances between 15 and 21 September 2025. Most qualifying recipients can expect payment in November or December 2025. Pensioners in Scotland may be eligible for the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, with disbursements commencing from November 2025. Meanwhile, individuals in Northern Ireland could potentially receive a WFP from the Northern Ireland Executive, reports Birmingham Live. For those WFP recipients whose income exceeds £35,000 in the 2025-26 financial year, HMRC will reclaim the full amount paid. 'Income' is defined according to 'total income' under HMRC regulations, meaning no deductions will be made for Gift Aid or similar contributions. In most instances, the recovery of the 2025-26 Winter Fuel Payment will be automatically processed through PAYE in the 2026-27 tax year. HMRC will adjust the recipient's tax code to collect approximately £17 per month, based on a typical WFP of £200. In the 2027-28 tax year, roughly £33 per month will be deducted for a typical WFP of £200. This is due to HMRC collecting WFPs from both 2026 and 2027 during the 2027-28 period. The monthly deduction will then revert to approximately £17 per month for the 2028-29 tax year. The WFP will not be recovered via PAYE if the recipient submits a Self Assessment tax return. In such cases, HMRC will automatically include the 2025 WFP on the 2025-26 return. However, if an individual files a paper tax return, they will need to manually include the WFP.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Labour Poole MP has whip withdrawn over 'indiscipline'
NEIL Duncan-Jordan has reportedly been suspended from the Labour Party following his criticism welfare bill and cuts to the winter fuel allowance. The Poole MP has had the whip removed after he voted against the Welfare Bill in Parliament earlier this month, describing the bill as a "dog's breakfast that isn't really worth the paper it's written on'. He said: 'Since being elected I have consistently spoken up for my constituents on a range of issues, including most recently on cuts to disability benefits. 'I understood this could come at a cost, but I couldn't support making disabled people poorer. 'Although I've been suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party today, I've been part of the Labour and trade union movement for 40 years and remain as committed as ever to its values. 'To my constituents: it's business as usual. I remain your hardworking local MP, I will continue to take up your concerns and speak up for Poole.' After voting against the bill, he told the Echo in an interview earlier this week that the bill was "handled badly" and he would always vote for 'what was best' for his constituents. Mr Duncan-Jordan was one of 49 Labour MPs who rebelled against the government. Two other Labour MPs are reported to have been suspended today. He also acknowledged he had "fallen out of favour" with the party after voting against winter allowance fuel cuts. Duncan-Jordan won the Poole seat in last year's general election by only 18 votes, ousting Conservative Sir Robert Syms who had held the seat since 1997. Having the whip removed means that the MP is effectively expelled from their party - but keeps their seat - and must sit as an independent until the whip is restored.
Wales Online
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Wales Online
Nigel Farage is UK's 'most respectful' political leader, new poll shows
Nigel Farage is UK's 'most respectful' political leader, new poll shows Pollsters took the mood of the nation a year after Labour took charge Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage (Image: Getty Images ) A third of people in Britain believe Nigel Farage is the "most respectful" politician, pollsters say. Polling of more than 7,000 people and research since the general election a year ago has shown bad news all round for Labour, with a loss of support from new and existing Labour voters. Broken promises and policy u-turns were big reasons for a loss of support, the research found. Nigel Farage came out above Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch in questions about which leader respects people more. Research by More in Common and UCL Policy Lab asked people about the big political parties, leaders and respect and found: Most think little has changed since the 2024 General Election Two thirds of Britons think Labour lacks respect for them U-turns on winter fuel payment, welfare changes and immigration have undermined Labour's voter base Asked to give Labour a report card, Britons give them an E Since the General Election, the proportion of Britons who think that Keir Starmer does not respect people like them has more than doubled: 63% now say that the Prime Minister lacks respect for them. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here Prime Minister Keir Starmer (Image: PA ) Article continues below And similarly, they feel the party he leads lacks respect too. In May 2024, 40% of Britons said the Labour Party respected them, and only 34% disagreed. Looking at Reform UK, the party led by Nigel Farage, there were high figures among those who identify as Reform voters for statements like "politicians do not respect my contribution to society" and "my values are not represented by politicians". Britons are more likely to say that Nigel Farage - rather than Keir Starmer or Kemi Badenoch - respects people like them. While a third said Nigel Farage is the figure who is most respectful, just 24% answered the same for the Labour or Conservative leader. Asked why they were turning away from Labour, the main reason voters gave - regardless of who they would vote for instead - is broken promises and u-turns on previous commitments. More than a third (36%) select this as a reason. Also high on the list is failing to deliver on the cost of living (31%), and their changes to the Winter Fuel Allowance (27%). Labour's defectors to Reform cite failures on immigration as a driving factor, while Labour's progressive defectors point to cuts to disability benefits. The polling found Labour is losing voters. Only three in five of those who previously voted for Labour would still in a general election held tomorrow but the rest are defecting across the board - 11% to Reform, 8% to Lib Dem, 4% to the Greens and 4% to the Conservatives. A further one in ten say they don't know how they would vote. There is further bad news looking at the people who backed Labour for the first time at the two most recent general elections. Of the voters Labour gained between 2019 and 2024, only 43% would back them now showing a dramatic loss among first time voters but there are also serious questions about the support among previously lifelong supporters. Article continues below Marc Stears, Director, UCL Policy Lab, said: "What voters want to know most of all is: who does this government stand for? What kind of people does it most respect? Whose interests does it put first? A lot of the electorate thought they knew the answer to that one year ago. Now they're not so sure."
The National
04-07-2025
- Business
- The National
Word cloud exposes Labour's biggest success is after 1 year
Pollsters More in Common asked voters to list Labour's biggest achievement after one year in power, and the top answer by a landslide was "NOTHING". More in Common are known for their word clouds, like this one for Keir Starmer (which is also features a huge NOTHING), and this one for Rishi Sunak, just before the General Election in July last year. They are fantastic visuals to really get across the overall opinion of the sample set, or better yet, really put the sting in the perception have of you. I've personally never seen a bigger and more brutal NOTHING. READ MORE: Glasgow locals give verdict on Keir Starmer's Labour after one year in power It's followed by the NHS, but that is actually the only other thing you can read without squinting. Or is that just my eyesight? Those asked were also asked to say, in their own words, what they thought the UK Government's biggest mistake in the last year was. "It's one of the most stark word clouds we've seen," UK Director Luke Tyrl wrote on Twitter/X. Winter Fuel Allowance drowns everything else out. But we can also see immigration, benefits, welfare and economy. So all good in Downing Street, aye? With his Chancellor crying in the Commons and his predecessor launching a new party, proclaiming "real change is coming", I'm sure the Prime Minister is having a very happy first anniversary in office.
Daily Mail
04-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Britons deliver a devastating verdict on Keir Starmer's first year in power... so what DO they think has been his biggest achievement?
Voters have answered with a resounding 'NOTHING' when asked what has been the biggest achievement of Keir Starmer 's first year in power, a new poll shows. More in Common asked voters to offer their one or two-word responses to Labour 's best and worst actions of the party's first 12 months in power to create a word cloud. And it was pretty brutal, with most people unable to thing of anything good. Only its work on the NHS made much of a dent in people's gloomy assessment. On the flipside, they were very clear in what has gone wrong. The Winter Fuel Allowance row was far and away the biggest cock-up in people's minds. It saw Sir Keir and Chancellor Rachel Reeves try to take away the £300 universal benefit away from all but the poorest recipients, before being forced into a U-turn. More in Common's director Luke Tryl said it was 'one of the most stark word clouds we've seen - the Winter Fuel Allowance drowns everything else out'. The other major problem to stand out for voters was immigration, with more than 20,000 people already having crossed the English Channel in small boats this year, a record. More in Common asked voters to offer their one or two-word responses to Labour's best and worst actions of the party's first 12 months in power to create a word cloud. And it was pretty brutal, with most people unable to thing of anything good. Sir Keir is facing Labour dissent, economic uncertainty and spiralling conflict abroad as he marks a year in Number 10. The Prime Minister led his party back into power with more than 400 MPs on July 4 last year – clinching a majority just short of Sir Tony Blair's landslide in 1997. But with a daunting in-tray of problems including a stuttering economy, creaking public services and global volatility, his political honeymoon period was short-lived. His personal popularity is now the lowest of any British premier after their first 12 months in office, political scientist and polling guru Professor Sir John Curtice said. 'There were pretty clear potential weaknesses before they even started, and most of those weaknesses have basically just been exposed over the course of the last 12 months.' Sir John said part of the problem lay in what he described as a failure of narrative in setting out the Government's vision for change to the public. 'They're portraying themselves as a repair gang rather than the builders of a new Jerusalem. Pessimism doesn't necessarily go down very well,' he said. 'The thing with Starmer is, he's a brilliant prosecution lawyer… But prosecution lawyers present cases that have been (put together) by someone else. The problem is that as a political leader you've got to prosecute your own case. 'Maybe he needs new personnel? Either he's got to learn to do it himself or get someone in to do it for him.' That verdict was echoed by some dissenting voices within Labour ranks, where there is lingering discontent among rebels over the Government's Welfare Bill despite Number 10 offering major concessions on the legislation. The Government saw off the threat of a major Commons defeat over the legislation on Tuesday after shelving plans to restrict eligibility for the personal independence payment (Pip), the main disability benefit in England. 'I think he really needs to think about why he wants to be a Labour Prime Minister and what is it he actually cares about,' one long-serving Labour MP said. They said Tuesday had marked 'the lowest point' in Sir Keir's premiership so far and raised questions about his authority, warning that backbenchers may now feel emboldened to demand further U-turns elsewhere. Sir John said that the Government's challenges in passing legislation were unsurprising in light of the broad but fragile coalition of support on which Labour built its election victory, securing 412 seats on just 35% of the vote. That means many MPs defending narrow majorities and raises the prospect of 'a large body of people who are nervous about their political futures,' he said.
