Nigel Farage blasted Rachel Reeves’ Winter Fuel Allowance cut on Monday describing it as a “terrible mistake” by the Labour Government while providing his solution to the problem.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, announced that from this winter households in England and Wales will no longer be entitled to the Winter Fuel Payment unless they receive Pension Credit or other means-tested benefits.
Speaking to reporters at the party’s “law and order” press conference, Farage said: “Well, they made a terrible mistake, haven’t they? I mean, they’ve alienated there are 10 million people going to lose the winter fuel allowance.
“Yes, it’s true some of them are well off pensioners, but they are actually as a percentage relatively small.”
Watch: Nigel Farage addresses winter fuel payments at the reform press conference
Farage just took 13 words to give his solution. offering out the Winter Fuel Payment in a fair way stating: “Why we can’t link winter fuel payment to what tax rate you pay.”
He added: “So that wealthy pensioners would be taken out of the system via that method, I have no idea.”
The leader of Reform went on to describe how energy prices are rising in the UK making the cuts even worse for pensioners.
He said: “And it’s worth remembering that we are paying our pensioners, all of us, including our manufacturers. We have the most expensive energy prices in the world.
“Our electricity prices are 74 per cent higher than America’s, 33 per cent higher than our next door neighbours in France.
“So we’re doing this to a group of people nearly all living on very limited fixed incomes at a time when bills are sky high anyway, let alone what the implications for gas and oil prices might be as a result of what is going on in the Middle East.”
Farage went on to describe one of his constituents who has a “very small private pension” and because of this, he’s going to lose his Winter Fuel Payment.
Farage continued: “I don’t think the Labour government even begin to understand just how wrong and unfair this seems to so many people.”
More than one in four pensioners set to be hit by the axing of the allowance are over the age of 80.
An analysis of the latest data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) shows some 27 per cent of OAPs set to miss out are over 80, a total of 2.8 million.
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The figures have prompted fresh calls for Starmer to U-turn on his controversial decision.
Dennis Reed, the director of the Silver Voices campaign group, said: “The scrapping of the winter fuel payment must rank as one of the most disgraceful and immoral decisions ever taken by a Labour Government.
“They are very disturbing figures. It shows that those most in need of the winter fuel payments are going to be clobbered by this policy.
“The universal payment was £300 for everybody over 80 and that higher payment recognised the fact that if you’re over 80 you’re much more likely to suffer very badly from the cold.”