Welcome to 'Boomerville': Government U-turns on winter fuel payment | LBC

Video Description

Rachel Reeves has confirmed more pensioners will gain access to the Winter Fuel Payment as she unveiled £15bn in spending for trains, trams and other infrastructure outside of London. Lewis Goodall makes a rallying call against the decision in response, claiming the UK is 'boomerville,' where the 'media and political environment' is stacked in favour of pensioners. Lewis also also asks listeners to consider the UK's young people, who are finding it increasingly difficult to afford rent, buy a mortgage and become independent. Speaking on Wednesday morning, the Chancellor said she will set out the details of the plan next week as she promised the "biggest ever investment by a British government in transport links within our city regions and their surrounding towns." "Today I want to tell you about just one part of our plan - renewing our transport systems in England's largest metal regions, including here in Greater Manchester and across the North and in the Midlands," Ms Reeves said. The Chancellor said the £15.6bn pot of cash will be granted to regional mayors as Labour looks to fulfil its campaign promise to revive the British economy. When asked about the Government's reported U-turn on Winter Fuel Payments, she said: "We have now put our public finances on a firmer footing. The economy is in a better shape. "But we have also listened to the concerns that people had about the level of the means test [of the winter fuel payment]. And so we will be making changes to that." "They will be in place so that pensioners are paid this coming winter. Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewlbcapp #lewisgoodall #winterfuelpayment #pensioners #boomer #youth #inequality #housingcrisis #wages #economy #population #uknews #ukpolitics #LBC LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK. Join in the conversation and listen at https://www.lbc.co.uk/ Sign up to LBC’s weekly newsletter here: https://l-bc.co/signup