Labour maintains that the Winter Fuel Payment policy will not be altered

No 10 says there won't be a U-turn despite mounting calls to undo the Winter Fuel Payment cuts, which came after significant defeats in last week's local elections

Even though there have been repeated calls for a review of the Winter Fuel Payment, Labour has maintained that it will not undo the cuts.

Following Health Secretary Wes Streeting's statement that ministers were "reflecting on what the voters told us" at last week's local elections in England, there had been conjecture that the Winter Fuel Payment cuts would be softened, or reverted.

The council seats that Labour was defending were lost by roughly two-thirds.

Additionally, according to The Guardian, the government was thinking of raising the effective 11,500 earnings threshold in order to maintain eligibility for the payment.

There "will not be a change to the government's policy," according to Keir Starmer's spokesperson.

In order to "ensure economic stability and repair the public finances," he continued, last year's decision to limit eligibility for the Winter Fuel Payment was necessary.

After revealing a 22 billion deficit in public finances in her spending audit last July, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to reduce the Winter Fuel Allowance. The payment, which was once universal, is now only available to pensioners who receive Pension Credit or another means-tested benefit.

The Winter Fuel Payment is no longer available to roughly nine million pensioners. For pensioners under 80, the benefit is worth £200 annually; for those over 80, it is worth £300. The benefit is paid in November or December.

The Winter Fuel Payment has caused "public fury".

During last week's local elections, when Labour lost 187 council seats and control of the only council it was defending, eliminating the Winter Fuel Payment for all pensioners was viewed as a crucial issue.

Taking control of eight authorities from the Conservatives and winning 677 of the approximately 1,600 seats up for grabs, Reform UK made significant strides.

Louise Haigh, a Labour MP and former cabinet minister, has criticized the winter fuel cuts, claiming that many voters now view them as a "totemic" issue.

She contends that the "primary examples offered as to why the Labour government simply did not look like it understood their priorities" were the proposed benefits cuts and winter fuel.

Baroness Eluned Morgan, the Labour Welsh First Minister, has also urged the UK government to "rethink" the policy, saying that it "comes up time and again" with voters.

"The government's cuts to Winter Fuel Payments have caused untold misery, with countless pensioners forced to choose between heating and eating," the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper said in response to Streetings' remarks, saying that Labour would need to consider the poor local election results.

"It is unbelievable that the government is just now realizing the damage and outrage they have caused.

Cooper attacked the government for a "completely tone deaf response to the local elections" after it announced that the cuts to Winter Fuel Payments would not be implemented.

Will there be a judicial review?

Unions and charities have also opposed the Winter Fuel Allowance change.

"The decision to reduce eligibility for Winter Fuel Payment last July caused a great deal of anxiety and distress among our older population in the winter just past," says Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK. "Some of them were so concerned about their fuel bills that they chose to keep their heating off, even when it was freezing."

This could have been catastrophic for the elderly and put additional strain on the National Health Service (NHS) because chronic cold poses a health risk, particularly for those with underlying medical conditions.

One of the largest donors to Labour, Unite, declared in November that it would sue the government for eliminating the Winter Fuel Payment for millions of pensioners. The union has formally requested permission from the High Court to proceed with a comprehensive judicial review.

In order to determine whether it can move forward with a full hearing, Unite informs BFIA that the judicial review is still in progress.

The union adds that most of its retired members have small workplace pensions that dont make them wealthy but put them above the threshold to continue to qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment.

In order to demonstrate its concern for the most vulnerable members of society, the government must now reverse its policy of picking pensioners' pockets, as stated by Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham.

Would Labour change its mind about the Winter Fuel Payment?

Despite No. 10's insistence that the Winter Fuel Payment will not be altered, there are calls for the government to reconsider the policy in order to provide struggling pensioners with additional financial assistance and/or to increase public support for the Labour party.

"Hopefully, the government is paying attention to how to ensure older people can stay warm at home next winter and into the future," says Abrahams of Age UK.

There are several ways to help older people who lost their Winter Fuel Payment because they simply couldn't afford it, but expanding the Warm Homes Discount's eligibility to include more pensioners is one of the most promising.

Since the low uptake of Pension Credit means that too many of the most vulnerable and impoverished elderly members of our society are currently not receiving it, an alternative option is to provide Winter Fuel Payment to more pensioners than just those who receive it.

According to official data, only 65 percent of those eligible for Pension Credit received the benefit in 2022 - 2023.

Ten months after the contentious Winter Fuel Allowance cut, "the furore still hasn't died down, instead being fanned by the flames of a shaky Labour showing in the local government elections," according to Rachel Vahey, head of public policy at the investment platform AJ Bell.

"It's unclear what Labour could do to extend the payment to more pensioners because it "would probably prove too administratively expensive," she continues.

Thus, it might be the only option to resume providing all state pensioners with a universal benefit. "Labour would find it embarrassing to make such a U-turn, but it might just save them some important public support," Vahey said.

For whom is the Winter Fuel Payment eligible?

A yearly tax-free benefit known as the Winter Fuel Payment is intended to assist pensioners in covering their energy costs during the year's coldest months.

Energy bill assistance has been available to pensioners since 1997, but it is now means-tested under the new Labour regulations. If a household has a household member who is 80 years of age or older and receives pension credit, they can receive up to 200, or 300.

With an average annual value of £3,900, Pension Credit is one of the most underutilized and misinterpreted benefits. For those with low incomes, the benefit essentially tops up their state pension.

You will receive a weekly top-up of 227.10 from Pension Credit if you are single, or 346.60 if you are in a relationship. If you have other obligations and expenses, you might receive additional funds.