UK XI: Now Is The Winter Payment Of Our Discontent

[egparadigm]

EDIT: Okay, I spoke to a pensioner I know and I understand now; the issue has to do with the criteria? Apparently if you have a private pension alongside the state pension, the threshold is really low to cause the cutoff, and maybe the government was too severe with that.

The threshold is not particularly low. In fact Pension Credit is far, far more generous than working age benefits and has a comparatively generous taper for savings, as in you can have more than £10,000 IIRC compared to working age cut off of £6,000. It’s more complicated because of the taper but that’s part of it on a simplistic level.

The big thing that will be making it tougher is the coalition govt’s New State Pension which was set at a level just above the Pension Credit amount, meaning those who only have a State Pension (those who retired in the last few years only) have zero Pension Credit and therefore also lose out on Winter Fuel Allowance.

I think the difference when compared to PIP and other welfare changes is that older people vote and hence it creates more political problems. The changes to PIP, incidentally are completely savage (as much as 90% of those getting standard rate are at risk) and will lead to a loss of £1000s per year (not the £300 quid fuel
allowance).

Ideally we should be supporting both groups and, frankly, we can afford to do so. But if you’re choosing I would do the fuel allowance change but be more generous with the means test or otherwise provide alternatives for those who currently just miss out.

[QualityChimp]

The winter fuel payment was an absolute mis-step for Labour.
I think they thought if they front-loaded the bad news to their tenure as Government, they'd be able to move past it.

It's been 15 years since the Tory/Lib Dem coalition and I know you're still pissed off at the Dems for not cancelling student debt, like they promised.

They're going to get bashed by this decision for the whole of their time in charge and it's especially frustrating because it raised a relatively small amount.

I think the school breakfast clubs is an amazing decision, but you'll have more people remembering those poor grannies freezing.

I am pretty sick of the media bias towards Reform though.
I look forward to their policies being scrutinised more as they get more votes, right? RIGHT?

[Nu-Eclipse]

I am pretty sick of the media bias towards Reform though.
I look forward to their policies being scrutinised more as they get more votes, right? RIGHT?

The simple way, the ONLY way, for Labour to counteract that is to getting on with properly delivering real tangible change. All they have delivered so far is Tory in red. It isn't good enough and it will only damage them at the electorate/make the possibility of a Reform Government more likely.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Starmer's spokesperson confirming that he is effectively doubling down on the WFA.

He simply doesn't get it.

[Asura]

It's absolutely wild that you thought to actually post this instead of, y'know, using the internet to find out for yourself.

If only that was the wildest thing in modern political discourse

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/may/07/business-reform-conservatives-labour-trade-deal-keir-starmer-kemi-badenoch-pmqs-uk-politics-live

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/06/senior-tory-mps-break-ranks-to-call-for-recognition-of-palestinian-state

[fishbowlhead]

Indian immigrants get massive tax break for working here for 3 years, while UK businesses & workers get rear ended once again.

Great times.