No 10 accused of being 'tone deaf' on damage caused by winter fuel cuts

Downing Street has been accused of being "completely tone deaf" to the damage wreaked by winter fuel cuts as new polling suggested that two-thirds of voters would back a rethink on the controversial policy.

- Pippa Crerar

Senior ministers have privately warned the policy is an electoral disaster while Eluned Morgan, the Welsh first minister, said that she was "losing patience" with UK Labour as she urged the government to think again.

Labour peer Ayesha Hazarika, a former adviser to Ed Miliband as party leader, warned of the "anger and political damage" the policy had caused. "If the government wanted to show it was listening, this would be a good start," she added.

Veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott posted on X: "Reviewing it is not enough for pensioners. It is also not enough to restore Labour's battered reputation. The winter fuel allowance must be restored in full."

Daisy Cooper, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, said the refusal to change course was "a completely tone deaf" response to the local elections. "The public are rightly furious at the government's decision to rip vital support from millions of the most vulnerable yet ministers simply are not listening."