Labour’s decision to cut winter fuel payments is mean and politically inept

Instead, the pressure has come from those opposed to the decision, in the form of pensioner lobby groups and MPs who are getting stick from their constituents. Rishi Sunak attacked Keir Starmer over it at prime minister’s questions. The Tories sense that voters are unhappy about older people having their income reduced at a time when energy bills are going to rise. The average bill will increase by £149 a year from October, but because many pensioners spend a long time in their homes, some will pay a lot more than that.