U-turn smacks of incompetence – Welsh ex-MP

A Former Welsh MP said the U-turn by the UK Labour Government over winter fuel payments “smacks of incompetence”.

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Ex-Labour minister Kim Howells went on to say that U-turns “never look good”.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Howells, who represented Pontypridd from 1989 until 2010 and was in both the Blair and Brown governments, said it showed the UK Government was “kind of rudderless, floating around, not knowing which way to turn. Now they face this kind of humiliation, and, really, there was no need for it.

“For a Labour government to be doing this just seemed daft, really. This along with a number of other decisions has allowed people, quite validly, to level really very significant criticism at the government,” he said.

In July 2024 the UK Government announced that it would be means-testing the winter fuel payment, introducing a cap that meant only those on pension credit would receive the payment. The move was widely criticised.