Reeves’s winter fuel U-turn is a mistake

Having already angered older voters with their controversial changes to winter fuel payments last autumn, Labour has now achieved a generational symmetry by angering younger voters with its subsequent U-turn. Rachel Reeves has today announced that more than three quarters of pensioners will receive the winter fuel payment this year. It means any individual with an annual income of £35,000 or below will now be eligible. That’s nine million people in total.

The political rationale behind this screeching U-turn is obvious. The cuts to winter fuel payments quickly became this government’s most unpopular policy. Many Labour activists reported it being the most commonly cited concern on the doorstep while campaigning for the recent local elections.