Red Wall MPs demand Starmer ‘acts now' to reverse winter fuel cuts as backlash grows
There has been growing public anger over the policy after Labour suffered a disastrous result at last week's local elections, which saw Reform pick up 10 councils and more than 600 seats.
The Red Wall group of Labour MPs, made up of around 45 MPs from Red Wall constituencies, warned that Sir Keir's response that he would "go further and faster" in delivering his plans had "fallen on deaf ears".
They warned that voters across the UK had told the Labour Party 'loudly and clearly that we have not met their expectations".
"Responding to the issues raised by our constituents, including on winter fuel, isn't weak it takes us to a position of strength," a statement added, urging the prime minister to 'break the disconnect between Westminster and the Red Wall areas'.
The Red Wall is made up of areas in the Midlands and Northern England which have typically supported the Labour Party.
On Tuesday, the prime minister acknowledged his government needed to 'explain the decisions that we've taken' after a 'disappointing' set of election results, but his press secretary said the government will not be 'blown off course'.
While there were reports the government was considering whether to increase the £11,500 threshold over which pensioners are no longer eligible for the allowance, the prime minister's official spokesperson ruled out such a move - saying there will 'not be a change to the government's policy'.
The spokesperson added that the decision 'was one that we had to take to ensure economic stability and repair the public finances following the £22bn black hole left by the previous government'.
But there is mounting pressure from within his own party - and from the opposition benches - for Downing Street to U-turn on the issue.
Veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott urged the government to restore the winter fuel allowance in full, saying a review of the policy alone wouldn't be enough for pensioners, nor would it be enough to 'restore Labour's battered reputation'.
Meanwhile, Labour peer and Welsh first minister Eluned Morgan warned she is 'losing patience' with UK Labour, urging the government to have a rethink.
And former transport secretary Louise Haigh said Labour's 'unpopular decisions are overshadowing the good ones', calling for the party to explore a wealth tax to win back voters following Reform UK's success in the local elections.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, the MP for Sheffield Heeley said: 'I don't think we can underestimate how catastrophic those results were last week for the Labour Party… people don't really feel that we're taking the action to address the issues that matter, whether that be on the cost of living, the public services or on the economy more widely, and that's very frustrating.
'I think the unpopular decisions are overshadowing the good ones. I think this Labour government has a lot to offer, whether it be the Employment Rights Bill, the increase in the minimum wage, the massive investment in our NHS, but people have heard the winter fuel allowance and the welfare cuts overwhelmingly.'
Labour MP for Leeds West, Richard Burgon, told Times Radio Labour cannot be "stubborn" on winter fuel payments, saying the policy was both 'deeply unpopular' and wrong.
"If the government wants to show that it actually gets it, in the words of the prime minister, then the government must fully reinstate the winter fuel allowance, not just tinker around the edges. And we can't be dragged, kicking and screaming, into rethinking on this policy", he said.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper also piled in, saying the government's 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', she said.
'From winter fuel payments to the family farm tax, this government has turned a blind eye to millions of people who can feel the damage that these half-baked polices are doing. It is time to change course.'
It comes as new polling from The Times and Sky News - conducted by YouGov - put Reform UK at its highest recorded vote share, sitting seven points ahead of Labour.
Nigel Farage's party was on 29 points, while Labour was on 22. Lagging behind were the Tories on just 17 points, while the Liberal Democrats were on 16.
The decision last July to restrict the winter fuel payment to the poorest pensioners was intended to save around £1.5bn a year, with more than nine million people who would have previously been eligible losing out.
But Cabinet ministers acknowledged the winter fuel payment decision had hit the party at the ballot box.
Asked whether the cut had been part of Labour's poor electoral performance, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: 'I think that has been a feature. I think the prime minister himself has said that and we're not sugar-coating those results, they're very challenging for us.'
The government has been contacted for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Millions of motorists will have to wait until next year to receive motor finance compensation after Supreme Court case, competition watchdog reveals
Millions of motorists overcharged for car finance will have to wait until next year for settlements – with consultation on a proposed compensation scheme worth up to £18bn not due to launch until October. The Financial Conduct Agency announced the development this afternoon after a Supreme Court ruling on Friday – but said it would 'take time to establish a (compensation) scheme'. The FCA estimates 'most individuals will probably receive less than £950 in compensation' per claim, with the total value of the scheme between £9bn and £18bn. Some individuals who bought several cars via hire purchase could receive multiple payouts. Officials said they hope 'to start getting people any money they are owed next year'. In the meantime, the watchdog urged people to wait rather than taking action via a claims management company or law firm as it could 'cost you a significant chunk of any money you get'. It said it has already taken action against publishers of 225 adverts 'about potentially exaggerated amounts of compensation'. The FCA's stance was today backed by Money Saving Expert guru, who told his followers on X (formerly known as Twitter) to avoid claims firms or solicitors and that 'the most important thing is to DO nothing'. The FCA said 'many motor finance firms were not complying with rules or the law by not providing customers with relevant information about commission paid by lenders to the car dealers who sold the loans'. It defended its action in the wake of the court ruling, saying it 'moved quickly' on 'steps to set up a proposed compensation scheme because it wants to provide clarity and certainty to consumers, firms and investors as quickly as possible'. But FCA officials stressed that 'want to ensure the integrity of the motor finance market so it works well for consumers now and in the future' and that the compensation scheme would need to 'balance principles including fairness, timeliness, and certainty'. Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA, said: 'It will take time to establish a scheme but we hope to start getting people any money they are owed next year. 'Our aim is a compensation scheme that's fair and easy to participate in, so there's no need to use a claims management company or law firm.' He added: 'It is clear that some firms have broken the law and our rules. It's fair for their customers to be compensated. 'We also want to ensure that the market, relied on by millions each year, can continue to work well and consumers can get a fair deal.' The FCA is working on rules to govern the finance schemes, used by 2.2m people each year, to ensure lenders 'consistently, efficiently and fairly decide whether someone is owed compensation and how much'. The FCA said motorists who have already complained don't need to do anything but urged others to submit a complaint, if they think they have paid too much for motor finance. It added it would be 'working intensively and engaging widely over the coming weeks on the detail of how a scheme would work'. The Supreme Court's ruling found that hidden commissions from lenders to dealers on car loans were not in themselves unlawful, excluding several million motorists from making claims. The court said car dealers did not need to operate with a 'single-minded' duty to 'act only in their customers' best interests' when arranging finance – and rejected a claim finance companies had bribed car dealers. But it found the payment of particularly large commissions, without customers' knowledge, were unfair and affected customers in those cases should be compensated. The five judges said a case where the commission was 55pc of the total charge for credit was 'unfair' and that a failure to disclose the 'exact nature of the commission, and the concealment of the commercial tie between the dealer and the lender' was wrong. Analysts for investment bank Jefferies heralded the judgement as a 'huge win' for car financing firms as it means the companies can avoid a much larger compensation bill which some market experts forecasted could be as large as that for PPI (payment protection insurance). The scandal led to payouts totalling £50bn. To make a report about potential mis-selling of car finance, visit
The Sun
30 minutes ago
- The Sun
Major health retailer with 700 stores to shut another branch as closing down sale launched
A MAJOR health retailer with more than 700 branches is shutting another store in days as a closing down sale is launched. Holland and Barrett is pulling down the shutters on the shop in the Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, Hartlepool. 1 The branch will open for the last time on Wednesday, August 6, reports the Hartlepool Mail. Stock has also reportedly been reduced by up to 75% off, with shoppers able to get some major bargains. A spokesperson for Holland & Barrett told the Hartlepool Mail: 'As part of Holland & Barrett's £70m investment in the transformation of its stores, technology and new product development, we are continually reviewing our locations to provide our customers the very best health and wellness products and advice. "This includes opening new stores, consolidating some smaller stores into one larger store, and in some instances, closing stores where there is no longer strong customer demand." It comes after closing down signs were spotted at another Holland and Barrett branch in Inverness, Scotland, in June. No exact closure date for the branch was revealed, with shoppers signposted to the health retailer's website. A store in Henley also relocated earlier this year. However, it is far from all bad news for Holland and Barrett as it recently toasted positive financial results. It ended the financial year up to September 30, 2024, with 10% year-on-year sales growth and gross profit totalling £524.2million. This was the second year running of double-digit growth as it looks to open more stores globally. Britain's retail apocalypse: why your favourite stores KEEP closing down It plans to open 36 new stores across its estate as well as freshen up 320 existing branches. The retailer also has plans to launch more concessions across the UK and Ireland, Netherlands and Belgium. Its own-label range will also be expanded by 400 products, taking the total to 1,000. Alex Gourlay, executive chair of Holland and Barrett, said: "Our retail performance continues to outperform the UK and Netherlands high streets and compares strongly against other European countries. "We are energised by the momentum we've built and excited for the opportunities ahead. "I could not be happier with the ongoing performance of the business or prouder of our colleagues who have been at the heart of delivering this strong growth." HIGH STREET STRUGGLES The high street has majorly struggled in recent years due to a combination of factors. Shoppers are buying much more of their products online, while retailers have faced higher rental, wage and energy costs. The Centre for Retail Research says the sector has been going through a "permacrisis" since the 2008 financial crash. Figures from the Centre show 34 retail companies operating multiple stores stopped trading in 2024, leading to the closure of 7,537 shops. Businesses have cautioned more closures are to be expected this year as well due to the hike to employer NICs and staff wages. The rate of employer NICs was hiked from 13.8% to 15% and the threshold at which they are paid lowered from £9,100 to £5,000 in April. The national minimum wage was also increased by up to £12.21 a hour. Some big names have already announced mass store closures in 2025, including Poundland, Hobbycraft and The Original Factory Shop. RETAIL PAIN IN 2025 The British Retail Consortium predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. Research by the British Chambers of Commerce showed that more than half of companies planned to raise prices by early April. A survey of more than 4,800 firms also found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024. Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020." The Sun asked Holland and Barrett to comment.
Reuters
30 minutes ago
- Reuters
UK's FCA proposes 9 billion to 18 billion pound redress scheme for motor finance claims
LONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Sunday proposed a redress scheme for consumers with motor finance compensation claims following last week's Supreme Court ruling, estimating the cost at between 9 billion and 18 billion pounds ($12 billion and $24 billion). Friday's court decision had calmed the industry's worst fears about the size of the bill it would face over improperly disclosed commissions on car loans - a sum analysts had estimated could run to tens of billions of pounds. However, after considering that ruling, which was largely seen as a win for the banks, the FCA still proposed an industry-wide redress scheme for certain types of compensation claims. "At this stage, we think it is unlikely that the cost of any scheme, including administrative costs, would be materially lower than 9 billion pounds and it could be materially higher," the FCA said in a statement. It said the total cost was hard to estimate. It cautioned that any estimates were indicative and susceptible to change, but it said those in the middle of the 9 billion to 18 billion pounds range were "more plausible." Some level of further compensation payout had still been expected by banks after Friday's ruling, placing investor focus on the FCA's decision over whether to launch a full redress scheme, what it might look like, and how much it would cost. Lenders, including Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), opens new tab, Close Brothers (CBRO.L), opens new tab, Barclays (BARC.L), opens new tab and the UK arms of Santander ( opens new tab and Bank of Ireland (BIRG.I), opens new tab, have already set aside nearly 2 billion pounds between them to cover potential motor finance compensation claims. The FCA said firms should now refresh estimates of their liabilities, increase provisions where necessary, and keep markets informed. Prior to the Supreme Court ruling, which overturned a previous court decision, there were fears the cost of redress could rival that of a payment protection insurance mis-selling scandal, which cost lenders over 40 billion pounds between 2011 and 2019. The proposed motor finance scheme would cover so-called discretionary commission arrangements - those where the broker could adjust the interest rate offered to a customer - if they had not been properly disclosed. The regulator said agreements dating back to 2007 should be considered and it would publish a consultation by early October, with an expectation that people start receiving compensation in 2026. "Our consultation will cover how firms should assess whether the relationship between the lender and borrower was unfair for the purposes of our scheme," the statement said. "Any redress scheme must be fair to consumers who have lost out and ensure the integrity of the motor finance market, so it works well for future consumers." The consultation will also look at how interest is calculated on compensation, saying it estimated a simple annual rate of around 3% would be applicable. The regulator said it had not decided whether the scheme should require customers to opt in, or be automatically involved unless they opt out. ($1 = 0.7531 pounds)
