Winter fuel U-turn must usher in greater respect towards our pensioners

SO this lady is for turning. At last Rachel Reeves has announced that she will change her ill-conceived cuts to the winter fuel payment and the coldest season looks a little less bleak.

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The Chancellor will expand on her decision in tomorrow’s spending review, and it will take until the autumn Budget before we find out how she intends to claw back the £1.25billion cost. By then, mercifully, the payment will be up and running for the winter of 2025-26.

This is to be commended and it testifies to the power of the Express. We launched the Save The Winter Fuel Payment campaign last August in response to Ms Reeves’ miserly act. Now, alongside other voices from pensioner groups and charities, we are immensely proud to have helped secure a better Christmas for older citizens.

To recap, some 10 million pensioners lost the payment last year after the Government limited it to those receiving benefits.