Keir Starmer said he wants more pensioners to get winter fuel payments in huge U-turn

Keir Starmer has said he wants more pensioners to get winter fuel payments in a huge U-turn on the controversial cut.

The Prime Minister said he wants "to ensure as we go forward more pensioners are eligible for winter fuel payments". He has been under mounting pressure to roll back on the to means-test winter fuel payments after dire results in the local elections.

It is said that the Government is considering a re-think of the £11,500 cut-off for the allowance, meaning more The PM said he will look at the decision "as part of a fiscal event", which could indicate a change in the policy next month after the Spending Review.

During , Mr Starmer told MPs: "We all know the economy was left in absolute mess by the Tories. We had to stabilise the economy with tough decisions but the right decisions. Because of those decisions it is beginning to improve."

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He added: "I recognise people are still feeling the pressure of the cost of living crisis including pensioners, and as the economy improves we want to make sure people feel those improvements as their lives go forward. That is why we want to ensure as we go forward more pensioners are eligible for winter fuel payments.

"As you would expect we will only make sure we make decisions we can afford. That is why we will look at that as part of a fiscal event."

Tensions have been rising in Labour ranks after Reform made sweeping gains in the English local elections earlier this month, when the party also won a by-election in the Labour stronghold of Runcorn and Helsby by six votes.

Ros Jones, who held on as Doncaster mayor by a majority of less than 700, said the Government needs to listen to the public as she hit out over winter fuel and benefit cuts. In a furious message after her narrow victory at the mayoral elections, she said the winter fuel cuts were "wrong".

And the Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan used a speech at the start of this month to call on to reconsider the means-testing of winter fuel payments. She has urged the Government to rethink as people are "very frustrated" by the policy. admitted anger over the cuts hurt in the local elections with voters raising the issue on the doorstep.

Downing Street ruled out a just a couple of weeks ago. Asked about possible changes to the £11,500 threshold so more pensioners would be eligible, the PM's spokesman said: "We set out the policy and there is no change. There is no change to that policy. As I say it was a difficult decision to means-test winter fuel payments but it was one we had to do to restore economic stability and repair public finances."

It came as Liz Kendall doubled down on controversial welfare cuts in a major speech an hour before the PM's bombshell announcement. The Work and Secretary defended plans to restrict eligibility for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) - a key disability benefit.

A government analysis suggested the cuts - totalling £5billion - will lead to an extra 250,000 people in poverty, including 50,000 children. Some 100 Labour MPs - more than a quarter of the party's parliamentary numbers - have signed a letter urging ministers to scale back welfare cuts.

In her speech, Ms Kendall, who said she was "listening" to colleagues' concerns, claimed the reform "will help ensure our welfare state is sustainable for the future". But making clear she will not back down, the Cabinet minister said: "We must start shifting so much spending on the costs of failure to investing in the jobs, skills and public services that people need to build a better life.

"And this requires leadership, and it requires reform. Now the truth is welfare reform is never easy, and it is rarely popular. Perhaps especially for Labour governments." She added: "But no responsible Labour government can resile from taking decisions because they are too difficult. Because this is not good enough for the people we came into politics to serve. So, we will reform the welfare state"