Speaking from Westminster, Sammy Wilson said:
“From day one, the DUP made it clear that Labour’s plan to remove the Winter Fuel Payment was a disgraceful attack on so many pensioners. We know from our constituents the real fear and hardship this policy created, especially as energy bills remain high.
In Northern Ireland, our DUP Communities Minister Gordon Lyons stepped up and acted where Labour failed, by stepping in with support for those who lost their payment. But this was only ever going to be a one off due to budget constraints. We needed the Government to reverse its ill thought-out decision.
While this u-turn is to be welcomed, it is staggering that Labour ever thought it acceptable to target older people in this way.
We await the detail in the next Budget, but it is clear the penny has finally dropped that punishing pensioners was wrong from the start.”