Labour's civil war stoked up by PM's winter fuel U-turn

Keir Starmer's partial U-turn on the winter fuel allowance has not resolved his problems. He was right to do it - but it has opened the door to further such demands.

- ANDREW GRICE

It has also thrown a spotlight on a debate raging inside his party, which goes to the highest level of the government. Labour is at war with itself over tax and spending.

The relief among Labour MPs about Starmer's retreat is palpable. They tell me they will finally have something to say on the doorsteps when voters put their hand up and tell them they are wasting their breath because of "winter fuel". As one put it: "We will now get past the hand and at least get a chance to make our case." Ministers admit privately that the government was not getting a hearing.

However, there is dismay on the Labour backbenches that Starmer announced his about-turn without being able to say whether it would take effect in the coming winter. Labour MPs are demanding immediate clarification on the timing, saying any gain from the U-turn will be wiped out if the pain of uncertainty is not lifted until the Budget in October - which might be too late to implement it this winter. That would be untenable.

Rachel Reeves will now come under intense pressure to say more about winter fuel when she unveils her government-wide spending review on 11 June. The chancellor doesn't want to turn it into a "fiscal event", after vowing to have only one each year in the Budget, but the public does not give a fig about Treasury niceties. As a bare minimum, she must confirm that more old people will definitely get the winter fuel payment this winter, and ideally reveal how many.