A historic tweet has been unearthed from Sir Keir Starmer in which he expresses concern for pensioners not being able to heat their homes and warns people the coming winter is ‘frightening’.
The then Leader of the Opposition said the Tories were ‘too busy fighting each other to notice’ the plight of pensioners while ‘Labour has a plan to meet the scale of this crisis.’
Commentators have been quick to highlight how axing the winter fuel payment pensioners receive to help heat their homes – one of Starmer’s first acts in office- does not in fact protect pensioners.
The charity Age UK predict axing the payment will affect 2.5 million older people, including those over 80, disabled and living alone.
These households will lose between £200 to £300 in energy bill support, with many planning to ration heating, food, and personal washing due to losing their Winter Fuel Payment.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves introduced the measure in a scramble to fill a “£22billion black hole” in the nation’s finances. It is expected to save about £1.4billion.
The controversial move has been lambasted across the political divide with the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and SNP all opposing. Many trade unions have also weighed in against the move, and nearly all charities representing older people.
Martin Lewis, the Money Saving Expert, has written an open letter to the chancellor asking her to reconsider.
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Lewis’s main points of contention are that the proposed threshold for winter fuel payments is too low, and that the way in which it will be means tested- pension credit- is a confusing and chronically underclaimed benefit.
Lewis explained: “Because pension credit – something I’ve been trying to shout about for the last decade – is a benefit that we currently think around 800,000 of the poorest in society do not claim.
“They are entrenched into not claiming often due to mental capacity or dementia type issues or the 240-page form.
“So we are to use a critically underclaimed benefit to be the means-test – is something I have a real problem with.”
Rachel Reeves announces her budget on Wednesday, October 30.