BBC Question Time’s Fiona Bruce skewers Labour minister with winter gas jibe | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Fiona Bruce put a Labour minister on the spot over winter gas funds cuts on tonight’s BBC Question Time. The BBC presenter put it to James Murray that axing the allowance for many pensioners got here up as a significant concern within the native elections.

The second got here because the present mentioned Reform UK’s enormous features in final week’s ballots. Ms Bruce mentioned: “Winter fuel allowance, that came up a lot on the doorstep, that’s what lots of your MPs are saying.

“You know a number of Labour MPs, together with one former Cabinet minister, are very, very sad on the efficiency of Labour for the time being.

“Keir Starmer is saying we will go further and faster, does that not sound like more of the same?”

The Labour MP replied: “Let me explain to you exactly what I think Keir Starmer meant when he said go further and faster, and certainly how I understand it listening to the electorate.

“When I used to be knocking on doorways within the latest native elections and a few individuals did point out the winter gas fee and lots of people would say to me, ‘look it was a tricky choice, we all know it was a tricky choice, we all know you’ve got needed to make a number of powerful selections due to what you inherited, however we need to see the change which making these powerful selections allows’.

“And when Keir Starmer talks about going further and faster, when I talk about that, when we talk about that as a Government, what we mean is look we’ve had to take tough decisions, difficult decisions, because of the mess we inherited, what we need to go further and faster on is delivering the change that enables.”

Ms Bruce pressed: “But crucially not changing course? That’s the key thing, despite the results and despite what you’re hearing on the doorstep?”

Mr Murray mentioned: “It’s not a decision that any of us in Government wanted to have to take.”

Reform deputy chief Richard Tice then chipped in: “So basically you’re not listening to the electorate?”

Labour sparked an enormous backlash final yr when Chancellor Rachel Reeves introduced that winter gas funds could be restricted to solely OAPs on pension credit score.