People very frustrated by winter fuel cuts - Morgan

Eluned Morgan has again urged the UK Labour government to rethink cuts to winter fuel payments, saying people were "very frustrated" by the policy.

The first minister told the BBC that Welsh Labour ministers lack the cash to "plug gaps" for pensioners in Wales.

Calls within the party for the cuts to be abandoned have grown louder in the wake of losses in the recent local elections in England. Plaid Cymru criticised Morgan for failing to "demand the cruel winter fuel payment cuts are scrapped".

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously defended the policy as necessary to restore the public finances.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Morgan said the winter fuel payment cut was "a challenge" for her party but that her government did not have the money to make up for the cut in Wales.

"That is a challenge for us," she said. "I am reluctant to plug gaps if it's withdrawn by the UK government and we have to step in.

"A lot of people are very frustrated by that and it's the number one issue that comes up on the doorstep."

Morgan said it would be "very difficult" to take the money from elsewhere in the Welsh government's budget saying "I don't want to take money from the NHS".

The winter fuel payment is a lump-sum amount of £200 a year for pensioners under 80, increasing to £300 for over-80s, paid in November or December.

Last year, the UK government restricted the payments to those who qualify for pension credit and other income-related benefits, in a bid to save £1.4bn.

The move, which did not feature in Labour's general election manifesto, means around nine million pensioners across England and Wales will no longer qualify for the top-up.

It has been seen as a key issue in the recent local elections in England, at which Labour lost 187 council seats and control of the only council it was defending.

It is also one of many challenges the Labour-led Welsh government faces as Wales prepares to go to the polls for the Senedd election next May.

Both the Welsh Conservatives and Plaid Cymru have called on the Welsh government to introduce its own winter fuel payment for pensioners.

Also on BBC Breakfast, Morgan declined to directly criticise the words used by Sir Keir Starmer in a speech to unveil plans to cut immigration.

The prime minister said on Monday the UK risked becoming "an island of strangers" without stricter controls.

Asked if the prime minister was "right or wrong" Morgan replied: "I don't think I would have used it [the language].

In Tuesday's First Minister's Questions Morgan said she would not be "drawn into a debate where people are using divisive language" on immigration when she was asked by Conservative Senedd leader Darren Millar if she agreed with the prime minister's analysis.

Some Labour MPs have accused Sir Keir of using divisive language.

Responding to Morgan's television appearance on Thursday, Plaid Cymru Senedd member Llyr Gruffydd said she had "repeatedly failed to call out and condemn Keir Starmer's divisive rhetoric or demand the cruel winter fuel payment cuts are scrapped".

"Both policies will have a detrimental impact on Wales but the first minister would rather protect her allegiance to Keir Starmer than stand up for Wales' communities," he said.