‘Wicked and nasty!’ Rachel Reeves branded ‘absolute clown’ in explosive Winter Fuel U-turn rant

The broadcaster's furious critique comes as the government announced a major reversal of the policy, expanding eligibility to nine million pensioners following months of intense backlash.

The Chancellor announced on Monday that pensioners with an income of £35,000 or below will now receive the Winter Fuel Payment.

Speaking to GB News, broadcaster Mike Parry said: "The economy was in good shape, and it was at the top of the G7 league.

"The Tories had actually made progress in economic growth. But when Rachel Reeves got in, this amazing £22billion black hole suddenly appeared.

"Even the OBR, which is usually very favourable to a Labour Government, questioned it and said 'we’re not sure where that is.’

"Rachel Reeves then sat down with her advisers and decided to make the world think, 'I'm an Iron Chancellor and I can take the hard decisions. We've got to announce a cut in public spending.'

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"She could have announced a cut in the massive welfare bill. She could have said, 'I’m not going to give train drivers a pay rise to take their salaries to £70,000 a year', or, 'I'm not going to give doctors everything they want'.

"But no, that would have caused fury from Labour’s traditional supporters, the trade unionists and the left-wing backbenchers.

"So instead, she decided with her advisers to pick on the people who could least protect themselves, who could least fight back: the pensioners."

He added: "It was a wicked and nasty policy. It was ill thought through. And then, weeks later, the Leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, had to justify it by saying, oh well, there would have been a run on the pound. What utter nonsense."

When asked if he believes that the Chancellor will apologise for the original cuts, he said: "She’s not going to say sorry, because that would be too humiliating. And remember, politically, she’s welded to Keir Starmer.

"Her future prospects are tied to his. I don’t think he’s going to sack his Chancellor, even though she’s made a complete fiasco of it.

"But she should say sorry, because at least she’d earn a bit of respect for that. Instead, she’s made an absolute clown of herself by claiming, ‘I’ve improved the economy.’

"Improved the economy? It doesn’t look like it’s improved. Businesses are closing down, pubs are shutting their doors, and people are being thrown out of work. That doesn’t look like improvement to me."

The move means 7.5 million more pensioners will get the allowance, with over three-quarters of pensioners in England and Wales now eligible for the benefit.

WATCH: Rachel Reeves tells Christopher Hope whether she will apologise to pensioners after humiliating Winter Fuel Payment U-turn

The payment of £200 per household, or £300 for households with someone over 80, will be made automatically this winter without pensioners needing to take any action.

The Treasury estimates the change will cost £1.25billion in England and Wales, saving around £450million compared to when the payment was universally available.

Around two million pensioners with taxable incomes above £35,000 will continue to miss out on the payment.

The decision to means-test the previously universal payment was one of the first announcements by Reeves after Labour's landslide election victory last year, and has been widely blamed for the party's collapse in support.