My latest focus groups brought together longstanding Labour voters in Leeds and Bradford, defectors from the Conservatives in Rushcliffe, and Tory-Reform switchers in Wellingborough. Topics included the likely winter fuel and benefits U-turns, Keir Starmer’s new immigration stance, the Reform surge in the local elections and the state of the opposition.
The impending reversal on the Winter Fuel Allowance was mentioned spontaneously by all the groups. The PM’s explanation that moving the threshold was now affordable because the economy was improving simply provoked laughter (“How have we gone from ‘there’s a £22 billion black hole’ to ‘things are improving’?”) Many who opposed the original policy gave him no credit for restoring the allowance for more pensioners because “he shouldn’t have took it in the first place.
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