Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith has launched a scathing attack on Labour's Winter Fuel Payment U-turn, accusing the Government of "mugging" pensioners and leaving them to "shiver through the winter".
The Government announced yesterday it would restore Winter Fuel Payments to millions of older people in a major policy reversal following months of political pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Griffith told GB News: "It just shows what a bad decision it was.
"There's no credit for stealing from someone, mugging their wallet, letting them shiver through the winter, something that pushes lots of pensioners into poverty, potentially increase the death rate among some, and then a year later, saying, 'oh, by the way, on the back of a fictitious idea, she's improved the economy'.
"She's made the economy far worse. We've seen today's unemployment figures showing that there are almost 100,000 fewer people on payroll than there were a year ago. The rate of unemployment is rising, just as interest rates and many other economic metrics.
Andrew Griffith said Labour "deserve no credit" for the U-turn
GB NEWS
"It would be good if she said sorry. I wouldn't hold my breath on that one, a terrible Chancellor, she's made a series of catastrophic decisions, even in her first year in office. And what a shower of a Government that they're doing these U-turns.
"All Governments hit bumps in the road. The one I was part of certainly did that. But to do that on something that was so premeditated after such a short period of time, really shows they're in chaos.
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"We all know people in life that every single thing they blame on somebody else. I'm sad to say that that is the quality, the calibre of the Chancellor we've got.
"The OBR never found any evidence of any black holes. Of course, there are spending pressures, but you know what, if the biggest issue is that you're trying to put the public finances on a sure footing, then don't go on the sort of spending spree that this Chancellor has done.
"She's going to announce tomorrow that this Government is borrowing record amounts, adding to the national debt. We're already paying £100billion a year, much more than the defence budget, on interest costs alone.
"Now, some of that was the aftermath of Covid, and we were starting to turn that round. Inflation was falling. We've got the public finances on a better footing.
WATCH: Rachel Reeves tells Christopher Hope whether she will apologise to pensioners after humiliating winter fuel U-turn
"She came into office, took money away from pensioners, gave it to expensively paid train drivers, and has since gone on a public spending spree.
"Be afraid. Be very afraid. Because the one thing that there's no doubt this week is that taxes will be going up.
"This Chancellor will be back in the autumn budget to take more of your money, put more people out of work through their red tape and the jobs tax and to try and erode your savings and pensions.
"Every socialist Government does that, they want to put more and more money into an unreformed public sector, yesterday was just a down payment the cost of returning people's winter fuel allowance, which should never have been taken in the first place."
Rachel Reeves announced the U-turn yesterday
PA
The Labour administration had cut the payments shortly after taking office last July, citing the need to address a financial shortfall inherited from the previous Conservative Government.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed that pensioners in England and Wales aged over 66 with annual incomes of £35,000 or below would now qualify for the support.
The Treasury said the measure would benefit approximately nine million people at a cost of £1.25 billion, whilst means-testing would still save around £450million compared to the previous universal system.
The initial cuts had meant roughly 85 per cent of pensioner households lost the benefit, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The new policy will extend Winter Fuel Payments to all pensioners aged over 66 with incomes at or below £35,000 annually, according to the Treasury announcement.
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