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Fuel U-turn smacks of incompetence, says ex-Labour minister

David Deans
Political reporter, BBC Wales News
PA Media Rachel Reeves sat at a table surrounded by members of the public, with a plant pot in front of her and various cups and jugs.PA Media
Rachel Reeves announced a U-turn on her cut to the winter fuel allowance on Monday

A former Labour minister from the Blair-era says the UK government's U-turn over the winter fuel allowance "smacks of incompetence".

More than three-quarters of pensioners will receive the winter fuel payment after Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed she would roll back her decision to cut the benefit.

Kim Howells said the original policy was "daft" and that UK Labour ministers seemed to be "rudderless" and "floating around".

The UK government was asked for comment.

The former Pontypridd MP told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast: "The problem… is it smacks of incompetence. These U-turns don't look good, they never look good.

"This seemed to be kind of rudderless, floating around, not knowing which way to turn, and now they face this kind of humiliation, and really there was no need for it.

"It's true that people like me on a decent pension don't need it, but there are millions and millions who do need it.

"For a Labour government to be doing this just seems daft really.

"I'm afraid that this, along with a number of other decisions, has allowed people quite validly to level really very significant criticism at the government."

EPA Sir Keir Starmer wearing a shirt, tie and suit pictured with a union jack behind him. EPA
"I don't understand anything Sir Keir Starmer says," says Kim Howells

Howells had a series of ministerial jobs under Tony Blair, including in the Foreign Office, before he was reshuffled out by Gordon Brown in 2008. He left Parliament in 2010.

In the radio interview Howells criticised the communication style of the prime minister.

"I don't understand anything Sir Keir Starmer says.

"It's this kind of London techno speak, which nobody understands.

"It's a mist instead of a clear policy, and that's what we need really. People need something to aim at, they need a hope, they need a future."

Kim Howells is holding a paintbrush to a canvas. He is wearing a blue shirt and appears to be in a wood-built building. The canvas has a snowy scene with white peaks in the foreground and bluer peaks in the background, giving a sense of depth.
Kim Howells, pictured in 2011, is also an art lover

He said Welsh Labour would "undoubtedly" pay the price for the UK government's actions - but Howells also criticised the Welsh government's performance.

The former minister said devolution was designed "to make Wales better, but our health service is even worse than in England".

"Welcome to Wales means you get all those tunnels in Newport," he said, referring to the 2019 scrapping of plans for an M4 relief road by former Labour first minister Mark Drakeford.

"We have to do much more than we have done at the moment."

Howells complained about what he saw as the "curse of the Welsh Assembly" in calling for subsidies, using the original name for the Cardiff Bay legislature which was changed to the Welsh Parliament in 2020.

"It's not been about encouraging entrepreneurships and getting people to start their own businesses. It's been constantly about the old politics of 'we haven't had our share, we must get our share'."

Asked about the row over whether Wales would benefit from funding for the Oxford to Cambridge railway line, he said: "Sure, that public investment is very important.

"But I don't think that's going to sort out transport problems in Wales or the future of Wales.

"It needs this outfit in Cardiff, it needs Keir Starmer's government in London, to realise that the world is changing at a fantastic pace and we've got to change with it."