Labour’s bruising losses in the local elections, down 187 councillors, have triggered a wave of finger-pointing behind closed doors, and it looks like the party’s scrapping of the Winter Fuel Allowance is taking the bulk of the blame.
The benefit, worth around £1.5 billion, was axed last July by Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and insiders now say it’s haunting the party hard. Reform UK managed to sweep up votes in areas Labour should’ve comfortably won, especially this far into the parliamentary cycle. Now, the backlash is real — and growing.
