This winter fuel fiasco will save Labour £1.3bn this year. But it will cost Starmer more | Simon Jenkins

The PM’s poor approval rating suggests a tricky road ahead, and the Treasury’s macho posturing won’t help anyone

Should the pensioners’ winter fuel allowance be cut? For most people it’s a simple question, though most people’s opinion is of no account. For 404 Labour MPs, however, it is indeed of account. They get to vote on it.

Yet up to 50 are said to be struggling, with dozens being persuaded by their whips merely to abstain rather than vote against. What is the point? With a majority of 158, a...