Browsing: Winter fuel payments

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has offered major concessions to over 120 Labour MPs who threatened to oppose key parts of the welfare reform bill.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced a U‑turn on last year’s winter fuel payment cuts, raising the income threshold to £35,000.

Tuesday’s newspapers are dominated by the news that Chancellor Rachel Reeves has U-turned on her scrapping of winter fuel payments for roughly 9 million pensioners. Those pensioners will now again be eligible before this winter – it’s unclear if pensioners who missed out will be able to get the money backdated.
On Wednesday, Reeves will unveil her spending review, with speculation rife across the papers, critics are asking just who is paying for all this.

Tuesday’s newspapers lead with the U-turn on the winter fuel payments cut. Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that she would restore the payment to more than three-quarters of pensioners who initially lost out after the government cut the payment last year. The move was widely condemned across the political spectrum, and the reversal has been widely welcomed – regardless of the paper’s political leanings. 

Good morning! ☕ Let’s grab a coffee and dive into the headlines for Tuesday, 10th June 2025. The skies are grey over the UK this morning, but sunshine is expected to soon return – so get ready to soak up the rays once again. But for now, let’s catch up on the latest news dominating the UK this morning.

As expected the UK news is heavily focused on Wednesday’s spending review – with announcements being made early, including the winter fuel payment reversal and the threshold being raised to include more pensioners.

The government has also confirmed a £14 billion investment to build a nuclear power station in Suffolk as part of a wider £113 billion infrastructure investment. The new build will create thousands of jobs and eventually provide power to more than 6 million homes.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has reversed the winter fuel payment cut, confirming full payments of £200–£300 this winter for pensioners earning up to £35,000 a year in England and Wales.

The five problems with the chancellor’s U-turn on winter fuel payments – and there are some major issues.

The Labour government’s U-turn on their deeply unpopular cuts to the winter fuel payments leads much of the newspapers. The government has said more pensioners will now be in line to receive the payment again but stopped short of explaining the new eligibility criteria. The chancellor did confirm those who will be eligible will receive their payment by this winter.

The government has confirmed that more people will qualify for the winter fuel payment this year, in a U-turn on one of Labour’s first controversial policies. Chancellor Rachel Reeves stated the increased eligibility will be in place “this winter,” though specific details on the new threshold and who qualifies remain vague.

Most of Thursday’s UK newspaper front pages lead with the U-turn on the winter fuel payment cuts. Last year the government announced changes to the benefit which saw more than nine million pensioners lose out on payments worth up to £300 – after the eligibility threshold was tightened.