‘Grotesque’ plan to reduce access to winter fuel allowance leaves pensioners feeling ‘ashamed’
“I’m deeply concerned about the winter,” 81-year-old Kevin McGrath tells me when I meet him at his home in Corby, Northamptonshire.
He is recovering from a major eye operation when we sit down to chat, but he cannot contain his frustration.
The former Roman Catholic monk turned social worker said he has spent all of his life trying to help people and described Labour’s plan to take the winter fuel allowance away from millions of pensioners as “evil”.
“Of all the wealth in Britain, they target the ones who have very little in life,” he said.
Kevin and his wife recently moved into a small, two-bedroom apartment on the edge of town to cut down on energy bills.
Neither have a private pension and their only source of income is their state pension.
In July, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that from this winter, pensioners in England and Wales will no longer be entitled to the winter fuel payment unless they receive Pension Credit or certain other means-tested benefits.
More than 10 million pensioners in England and Wales received the winter fuel payment last winter.
The government says the move will help them plug an estimated £22bn black hole in the public finances.
“I fully understand that the government has difficult decisions to make, but why are they starting at the bottom, why don’t they start at the top. It’s evil. It’s a crime,” said Kevin.
To be eligible, Kevin will have to apply to see if he meets the criteria to continue to receive the benefit, something he says is a source of embarrassment among older people.
“Who decides that we haven’t got enough money to live on? I speak to my friends who tell me they are ashamed and embarrassed to have to go through this process. These are people who have worked all of their lives.”
Data shared exclusively with Sky News by the charity Independent Age reveals growing concern about the policy among older people.
In August, the number of calls about pension credit, one of the main factors in assessing eligibility, was three-and-a-half times higher than the average for the first six months of the year.
And more than two in five calls in the same month were about pension credit, up from one in six in the first half of the year.
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Independent Age chief executive Joanna Elson CBE said: “This data from our helpline clearly shows that many people in later life are worried about the UK government’s decision to limit the winter fuel payment to those that receive pension credit.
“The people we speak to are frightened about losing a vital lifeline this winter, many are struggling on a low income and will be forced to make drastic cutbacks.
“Others tell us it is the first time they have reached out for support, as the winter ahead feels very bleak.”
The charity says it is urging the government to delay its plans to means test the winter fuel payment until more people can apply for pension credit.
Mr McGrath, a former Roman Catholic monk, says his friends feel ‘ashamed’ at having to apply for means testing
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The government says the average state pension will rise under Labour.
A commitment to maintain the triple lock on the state pension, which guarantees annual increases in line with whichever is the higher of inflation, 2.5 per cent or annual earnings, has boosted pension payments since it was introduced in 2012.
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Now Labour says the triple lock will remain in place for the rest of the parliament, which means the full UK state pension could rise by about £460 a year from April 2025.
Kevin said he will have to wait and see what the winter brings and says he is disappointed in the new government.
“I find it sad that if you are elderly and you’re not economically active then you don’t matter. There’s something grotesque about it all.”
A government spokesperson told Sky News it is “committed to supporting pensioners”, adding over 12 million people will see their state pension rise by £1,700 this parliament because of the triple lock.
“Given the dire state of the public finances we have inherited, it’s right we target support to those who need it most,” they said.
“We urge anyone who thinks they may be entitled to pension credit to check their eligibility and have already seen a 115% increase in claims following the launch of our awareness campaign.”
Migrants convicted of sex offences in the UK or overseas will be unable to claim asylum under government plans to change the law to improve border security.
The Home Office announcement means foreign nationals who are added to the sex offenders register will forfeit their rights to protection under the Refugee Convention.
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As part of the 1951 UN treaty, countries are allowed to refuse asylum to terrorists, war criminals and individuals convicted of a “particularly serious crime” – which is currently defined in UK law as an offence carrying a sentence of 12 months or more.
The government now plans to extend that definition to include all individuals added to the Sex Offenders’ Register, regardless of the length of sentence, in an amendment to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which is currently going through parliament. It’s understood they also hope to include those convicted of equivalent crimes overseas.
Those affected will still be able to appeal their removal from the UK in the courts under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
More than 10,000 people have now been detected crossing the Channel. Pic: PA
It is unclear how many asylum seekers will be affected, as the government has been unable to provide any projections or past data on the number of asylum seekers added to the Sex Offenders’ Register.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Sex offenders who pose a risk to the community should not be allowed to benefit from refugee protections in the UK.
“We are strengthening the law to ensure these appalling crimes are taken seriously.”
Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls Minister Jess Philips said: “We are determined to achieve our mission of halving violence against women and girls in a decade.
“That’s exactly why we are taking action to ensure there are robust safeguards across the system, including by clamping down on foreign criminals who commit heinous crimes like sex offences.”
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The Home Office would like voters to see this as a substantial change. But that’s hard to demonstrate without providing any indication of the scale of the problem it seeks to solve.
Clearly, the government does not want to fan the flames of resentment towards asylum seekers by implying large numbers have been committing sex crimes.
But amid rising voter frustration about the government’s grip on the issue, and under pressure from Reform – this measure is about signalling it is prepared to take tough action.
Conservatives: ‘Too little, too late’
The Conservatives claim Labour are engaged in “pre-election posturing”.
Chris Philp MP, the shadow home secretary, said: “This is too little, too late from a Labour government that has scrapped our deterrent and overseen the worst year ever for small boat crossings – with a record 10,000 people crossing this year already.
“Foreign criminals pose a danger to British citizens and must be removed, but so often this is frustrated by spurious legal claims based on human rights claims, not asylum claims.”
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The Home Office has also announced plans to introduce a 24-week target for appeal hearings (known as “first-tier tribunals”) to be held for rejected asylum seekers living in taxpayer-supported accommodation, or for foreign national offenders.
The current average wait is 50 weeks. The idea is to cut the asylum backlog and save taxpayers money – Labour have committed to end the use of asylum hotels by the end of this parliament.
It’s unclear how exactly this will be achieved, although a number of additional court days have already been announced.
The government also plans to crack down on fake immigration lawyers who advise migrants on how to lodge fraudulent asylum claims, with the Immigration Advice Authority given new powers to issue fines of up to £15,000.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has called on government officials to address questions related to US President Donald Trump’s memecoin and his media company.
In an April 25 letter to Jamieson Greer, acting director of the US Office of Government Ethics (OGE), Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts and California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff requested that officials address concerns about Trump’s memecoin after the president announced a dinner and White House tour for some of the individuals who held the most TRUMP tokens. The two senators requested that Greer provide information on safeguards and guidelines related to whether foreign actors and others could buy political influence with the president, potentially impacting his policy positions and federal pardons.
“President Trump’s announcement promises exclusive access to the presidency in exchange for significant investment in one of the President’s business ventures,” wrote the two senators.
“In promising such access, this proposition may implicate several federal ethics laws and constitutional prohibitions, including the federal bribery statute and emoluments clauses of the US Constitution. It also raises the troubling prospect that foreign actors are using the memecoin as a vector to buy influence with President Trump and his associates without needing to disclose their identities publicly.”
The letter was sent the same day Warren reportedly expressed similar concerns about Trump’s potential conflicts of interest with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to an April 25 Reuters report, the Massachusetts senator urged SEC Chair Paul Atkins to ensure that oversight of Trump’s media company was “free from undue political interference and influence from the President and his administration.”
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Though ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, Warren does not have the authority to direct Congress’s agenda with Democrats in the minority. Two Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives have already called for Trump’s impeachment over his memecoin dinner.
Warren added:
“The American people deserve the unwavering assurance that access to the presidency is not being offered for sale to the highest bidder in exchange for the President’s own financial gain.”
At the time of publication, it was unclear who among the top TRUMP memecoin holders would attend the dinner, scheduled to be held on May 22 at Trump’s golf club in Washington, DC. Speculation and analysis of users suggested that Trump supporters, including Tron founder Justin Sun, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and others, could attend, though none had been confirmed as of April 28.
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Crypto users betting on the outcome of the snap election to determine the next Prime Minister of Canada appear to be favoring a Liberal Party victory as residents head to cast their votes.
As of April 28, cryptocurrency betting platform Polymarket gave current Canadian Prime Minister and Liberal Party candidate Mark Carney a 79% chance of defeating Conservative Party candidate Pierre Poilievre in the race for the country’s next PM. Data from the platform showed users had poured more than $75 million into bets surrounding the race, predicting a Poilievre or Carney victory.
The odds suggested by the platform, as well as those from many polls, show a nearly complete reversal of fortunes between the two candidates after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned in January. Trudeau and, by association, many in the Liberal Party, faced criticism over the handling of Canada’s housing crisis and questions about how he would face US President Donald Trump’s then-proposed tariffs.
Following Trudeau’s resignation, Trump stepped up rhetoric disparaging Canada, repeatedly referring to the country as the US’s “51st state” and Trudeau as its “governor.” The US President also imposed a 25% tariff on goods imported from Canada in March. The policies seem to have led to increasing anti-Trump sentiment in Canada, with many residents booing the US national anthem at hockey games and making comparisons between the president and Poilievre.
This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.
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