Winter fuel allowance could be removed for most pensioners to pay for triple lock

Published

2 years ago

September 29, 2023

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Rishi Sunak is considering removing the winter fuel allowance from all but the poorest pensioners as a way of clawing back some taxpayer funds from the elderly as he prepares to fight the next election on a pledge to keep the pension triple lock despite its spiralling costs.

Government figures told Sky News the prime minister “understands the politics” of the triple lock and knows he has no option but to recommit to it, given the importance of the pensioner vote to his campaign and the Lib Dem recommitment to the policy in recent days.

Labour is also expected to maintain the triple lock in its manifesto.

Politics Live: Labour in campaigning mode ahead of by-elections

But the prime minister is also trying to find ways to offset the cost of the commitment with officials drawing up proposals to remove the annual winter fuel allowance from all pensioners except those who receive pension credit.

“Rishi understands the politics of the triple lock, although he thinks it’s far from fair from an intergenerational point of view, so he’s trying to redress that a little bit,” said one government insider.

Another person familiar with discussions told Sky News that if the government decides to “keep the triple lock but take away the winter fuel allowance from rich pensioners. I think people will understand that and think it’s fair”.

Mr Sunak has so far refused to commit to honouring the triple lock – which increases pensions each year by whatever is highest out of average earnings, inflation or 2.5%.

However, insiders say it is inevitable that he will and is now trying to find other ways to offset the cost of the commitment, with the triple lock forecast to cost as much as £45bn a year by 2050.

Winter fuel payments go to about 8.4m households and is forecast to cost £2bn this year, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. A small – and falling – proportion are in receipt of pension credit.

What is the winter fuel allowance?

The Winter Fuel Payment is a tax-free handout from the government to help people of pension age pay for their fuel and heating bills.

Ministers set a date each year that defines eligibility. For 2023/204, anyone born before 25 September 1957 could get between £250 and £600 to help pay for bills this winter.

The exact amount depends on things like age and whether other people in your household also qualify.

However, it does not take into account financial status, meaning even the wealthiest pensioners can receive the state benefit.

Pensioners can opt-out of receiving the payments, but last year the numbers doing so dropped. Charities said this showed even middle class retirees were struggling with rising energy bills.

Wealthy celebrities like Lord Alan Sugar have also complained about the difficulties in opting out and donated their allowance instead.

Some MPs have previously called for a means-tested system, but the idea has not become mainstream.

Carl Emmerson, deputy director of the IFS, said over the long-run, the cost of retaining the triple lock will dwarf the saving from even getting rid of the winter fuel allowance entirely, pointing out that since 2010, the triple lock has increased state pension spending by £11bn a year to date.

A government spokesperson said the government was committed to the triple lock and said it would not comment on speculation ahead of its annual autumn review of benefits and pensions.

“We have protected pensioners with the biggest State Pension increase in history this year as well as boosting Pension Credit – worth around £3,500 a year for those on the lowest incomes,” the spokesperson said.

“On top of Winter Fuel Payments, pensioners will get another £300 this winter to help with essential costs, and we are bearing down on inflation to make everyone’s money go further.”

But officials also noted that there are 200,000 fewer pensioners in absolute poverty than in 2009/10, with the basic state pension over £3,050 a year higher than in 2010.

Winter fuel allowance is only one spending area the government is looking at ahead of the autumn statement in November.

One figure told Sky News that the Department of Work and Pensions is also considering whether to cut working-age benefits in real terms ahead of the general election as the PM looks for space to create tax cuts. This could mean breaking the link with updating benefits in line with inflation.

The prime minister wants to be able to offer tax cuts in the run-up to the election, with one minister suggesting that scrapping the second leg of HS2 as well as a real-term cut in benefits might give the PM more room to do this.

One option being discussed is whether to increase the threshold for paying inheritance tax from £1m to £1.5m in order to appeal to middle-class voters in more affluent counties.

“It might be helpful in some seats,” said a figure familiar with discussions, who said scrapping the tax completely carried political risk given it would be framed as a tax break for the very rich.

The issue of the rising tax burden is vexing many Conservative MPs and has been put squarely on the agenda on the eve of the Conservative Party conference after the IFS released analysis showing that Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson have overseen the largest set of tax rises since the Second World War, and will cost the equivalent of £3,500 per household.

The IFS also estimates that by the time of the next general election the tax burden will have risen to 37% of national income and also warns that the shift to higher taxes may never be reversed, piling the pressure on the prime minister to cut taxes as his party gathers in Manchester this weekend for its annual party conference.

Former Prime Minister Liz Truss, who is due to attend the great British growth rally fringe in Manchester on Monday, alongside former cabinet ministers Priti Patel and Jacob Rees-Mogg, said on Friday: “We should always be seeking to reduce the tax burden, especially when there is so much pressure on family budgets.

“This unprecedentedly high tax burden is one of the reasons that the British economy is stagnating and why we need to cut taxes to help make Britain grow again.”

Another senior Conservative MP said some colleagues were in despair over Mr Sunak’s leadership and refusal to cut taxes. “We had a majority of 80 and now we’d be lucky to get a majority. We need to demonstrate Conservative values to make sure people can keep more of their money.”

Treasury minister Andrew Griffith told Sky News the government still believes in “reducing the tax burden” but their priority is bringing down inflation.

Asked if we can expect some tax cuts before the next general election, he said: “No, that’s absolutely not what I’m saying and I think any responsible treasury minister wouldn’t come on your programme this morning and make specific commitments.”

UK

Reports of BBC coup ‘complete nonsense’, board member tells MPs

Published

2 hours ago

November 24, 2025

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Reports of BBC coup 'complete nonsense', board member tells MPs

Reports of a “board-level orchestrated coup” at the BBC are “complete nonsense”, non-executive director Sir Robbie Gibb has told MPs.

Sir Robbie, whose position on the BBC board has been challenged by critics in recent weeks, was among senior leaders, including the broadcaster’s chair, Samir Shah, to face questions from the Culture, Media and Sport committee about the current crisis.

The hearing took place in the wake of the fallout over the edit of a speech by US President Donald Trump, which prompted the resignation of the corporation’s director-general and the chief executive of BBC News, and the threat of a lawsuit from the US president.

Former editorial adviser Michael Prescott, whose leaked memo sparked the recent chain of events, also answered questions from MPs – telling the hearing he felt he kept seeing “incipient problems” that were not being tackled.

He also said Mr Trump’s reputation had “probably not” been tarnished by the Panorama edit.

During his own questioning, Sir Robbie addressed concerns of potential political bias – he left BBC News in 2017 to become then prime minister Theresa May’s director of communications, a post he held until 2019, and was appointed to the BBC board in 2021 by Boris Johnson.

“I know it’s hard to marry the fact that I spent two years as director of communications for the government… and my genuine passion for impartiality,” he said.

“I want to hear the full range of views… I don’t want the BBC to be partisan or favour any particular way.”

Asked about reports and speculation that there has been a “board-level orchestrated coup”, Sir Robbie responded: “It’s up there as one of the most ridiculous charges… People had to find some angle.

“It’s complete nonsense. It’s also deeply offensive to fellow board members… people of great standing in different fields.”

He said his political work has been “weaponised” – and that it was hard as a non-executive member of the BBC to respond to criticism.

‘We should have made the decision earlier’

Mr Shah admitted the BBC was too slow in responding to the issue of the Panorama edit of Mr Trump, which had been flagged long before the leaked memo.

“Looking back, I think we should have made the decision earlier,” he said. “I think in May, as it happens.

“I think there is an issue about how quickly we respond, the speed of our response. Why do we not do it quickly enough? Why do we take so much time? And this was another illustration of that.”

Following reports of the leaked memo, it took nearly a week for the BBC to issue an apology.

Mr Shah told the committee he did not think Mr Davie needed to resign over the issue and that he “spent a great deal of time” trying to stop him from doing so.

Is director-general role too big for one person?

Asked about his own position, Mr Shah said his job now is to “steady the ship”, and that he is not someone “who walks away from a problem”.

A job advert for the BBC director-general role has since gone live on the corporation’s careers website.

Mr Shah told the hearing his view is that the role is “too big” for one person and that he is “inclined” to restructure roles at the top.

He says he believes there should also be a deputy director-general who is “laser-focused on journalism”, which is “the most important thing and our greatest vulnerability”.

Earlier in the hearing, Mr Prescott gave evidence alongside another former BBC editorial adviser, Caroline Daniel.

He told the CMS committee that there are “issues of denial” at the BBC and said “the management did not accept there was a problem” with the Panorama episode.

Mr Prescott’s memo highlighted concerns about the way clips of Mr Trump’s speech on January 6 2021 were spliced together so it appeared he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell”.

‘I can’t think of anything I agree with Trump on’

Mr Trump has said he is going to pursue a lawsuit of between $1bn and $5bn against the broadcaster, despite receiving an official public apology.

Asked if the documentary had harmed Mr Trump’s image, Mr Prescott responded: “I should probably restrain myself a little bit, given that there is a potential legal action.

“All I could say is, I can’t think of anything I agree with Donald Trump on.”

He was later pushed on the subject, and asked again if he agreed that the programme tarnished the president’s reputation, to which he then replied: “Probably not.”

Mr Prescott, a former journalist, also told the committee he did not know how his memo was leaked to the Daily Telegraph.

“At the most fundamental level, I wrote that memo, let me be clear, because I am a strong supporter of the BBC.

“The BBC employs talented professionals across all of its factual and non-factual programmes, and most people in this country, certainly myself included, might go as far as to say that they love the BBC.

He said he “never envisaged” the fallout that would occur. “I was hoping the concerns I had could, and would, be addressed privately in the first instance.”

Asked if he thinks the BBC is institutionally biased, he said: “No, I don’t.”

He said that “tonnes” of the BBC’s work is “world class” – but added that there is “real work that needs to be done” to deal with problems.

Mr Davie, he said, did a “first-rate job” as director-general but had a “blind spot” toward editorial failings.

UK

Police appeal after man charged with murdering two women and raping third

Published

5 hours ago

November 24, 2025

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Police appeal after man charged with murdering two women and raping third

Police have appealed for information after a man was charged with murdering two women and raping a third.

Simon Levy has been charged with murdering 53-year-old Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo who died on the Aylesbury Estate, south-east London, on 17 March, the Metropolitan Police said.

In September, Levy, of Beaufoy Road, Tottenham, north London, was charged with murdering 39-year-old Sheryl Wilkins who was found unresponsive in High Road, Tottenham, on 24 August.

He is also accused of grievous bodily harm with intent, non-fatal strangulation and two counts of rape against a third woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in Haringey, north London, on 21 January, police said.

The 40-year-old will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday charged with Ms Valencia-Trujillo’s murder.

He is also due to appear at the Old Bailey on Wednesday for a plea and trial preparation hearing for the murder of Ms Wilkins.

Detectives believe there may be individuals who have information relevant to this investigation – or who are yet to report incidents which have directly impacted them – and are asking for people to come forward.

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Family of woman killed 56 years ago, in a case of mistaken identity, believe her remains are buried in a garden

Published

5 hours ago

November 24, 2025

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Family of woman killed 56 years ago, in a case of mistaken identity, believe her remains are buried in a garden

The family of murder victim Muriel McKay believe her remains are buried in a garden in east London, the High Court has heard.

Ms McKay was officially declared dead by a High Court judge earlier this month, 56 years after being kidnapped.

The 55-year-old was taken from her London home by Nizamodeen and his brother Arthur Hosein in December 1969.

They mistook her for Anna, the wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

Ms McKay’s husband was newspaper executive Alick McKay, the deputy to newspaper mogul Rupert Murdoch.

The kidnappers realised their mistake, but still demanded a £1m ransom for her safe return.

The two Hosein brothers were convicted and jailed for life in one of the first murder trials without a body. Arthur Hosein died in prison.

On Monday, barristers for two of Ms McKay’s children, Ian McKay and Dianne Levinson, asked a judge to order that the homeowners of two neighbouring properties on Bethnal Green Road allow the family to conduct a “ground-penetrating radar survey” of a shared back garden.

One of the homeowners, Madeleine Higson, opposes the injunction bid, which would also stop her from disturbing the garden.

Mr Justice Richard Smith said he will hand down his judgment at 2pm on Tuesday, stating the case involved “not uncomplicated legal sensitivities”.

Speaking following the hearing, Ms McKay’s grandson Mark Dyer said the bid to discover her remains was “important to the whole family”.

He said: “We do not want to be felt sorry for, we just actually want to get on and … scan the place, check for my grandmother.

“We’ve been told she’s there, most probably there, so we need to pick her up.

“She would like to come home for Christmas this year and what is left of her is purely some remains, some bones.

“They should find a place where the family can go and visit, where whoever’s interested in what happened to her should go and visit, and that’s the right thing to do.”