Angela Rayner Struggles to Defend Labour’s Pension U-turn on Air
Angela Rayner found herself under serious pressure this weekend as the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg took her to task over Labour’s chaotic handling of its winter fuel payments U-turn. What started as a controversial move to strip around 10 million pensioners of the allowance quickly turned into a political mess—and judging by this latest interview, it’s far from cleaned up.
Appearing on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the deputy prime minister was put on the spot over the party’s backtrack. It follows a major backlash, not just from the public but also from Labour’s own backbenchers. After weeks of insisting the policy wouldn’t budge, Keir Starmer announced this week that he does want more people to be eligible—but only when the economy is in good enough shape.
That caveat didn’t sit well with Kuenssberg, who didn’t let Rayner off easy. Pressing her repeatedly, Kuenssberg asked if the government could guarantee the payments would return this winter. Rayner wouldn’t say. “It depends on the state of the economy,” she responded, adding that any announcement would come as part of a fiscal event, not via an interview.
That didn’t cut it for Kuenssberg, who fired back: “You can’t even say it would be done in time for this winter? Isn’t this a bit cack-handed?”
She then laid out the inconsistency plain and simple: “We have had Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves and you for months sticking to the collective line, saying, ‘we are not going to change it, we are sticking to it.’ This week, the prime minister says, ‘Oh actually, we’re not sticking to it, but we’re not going to tell you for months who is going to get it back and when it’s going to happen.’”
Rayner tried to defend the government’s position by blaming the Conservatives for the shaky financial footing, referencing a “£22 billion black hole” they claim was left behind. “Now the economy is showing signs of improvement, we’ve had the interest rate cuts, we’re the fastest growing economy in the G7,” she said. “The prime minister has indicated that he would like to see movement on this.”
She claimed the government is being “very clear on the direction of travel.” But for Kuenssberg—and likely millions of pensioners—that just sounded like more political waffle.
And Labour isn’t just taking heat from journalists. The Liberal Democrats slammed the delay and mixed messaging, too. Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: “Millions of pensioners were plunged into uncertainty and financial turmoil last winter by the government’s callous decision to strip Winter Fuel Payments. They deserve clarity, not continued confusion and mixed messaging from the top.”
She added: “The Government needs to accept that this policy was doomed from the start and complete what is becoming the world’s slowest u-turn.”
So, with winter fast approaching and millions of older Brits unsure whether they’ll get support to heat their homes, Labour’s vague promises aren’t doing much to ease concerns. For now, pensioners are left waiting—and wondering.
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