‘We’ve listened’, says Reeves as U-turn confirmed

More than three-quarters of pensioners will receive the winter fuel payment this year after Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed a major policy U-turn.

Nine million pensioners in England and Wales with an annual income of £35,000 or less will now be eligible.

The payment, worth up to £300 to help with energy bills during the coldest months, was paid only to those on pension credit last year.

The policy was widely blamed for Labour’s poor local election results. Reeves said the government had “listened to people’s concerns”, but Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the change a “humiliating U-turn”.

The reversal comes ahead of the government’s Spending Review, details of which will be announced on Wednesday.

The government said the increased threshold meant “no lower or middle-income…