The temperature has definitely dropped and many of us have turned up the thermostat. Yet, for some people the cost of heating is a real concern.
Last month our local Labour MP Yuan Yang voted to scrap winter fuel payments for all but the very poorest pensioners.
This policy of removing winter fuel payments, one of the very first policies announced by this Government, was not in Labour’s manifesto at the election. Only now are voters getting an idea of what sort of Government Labour are.
There are a number of problems with this policy.
The first is that for older people heating isn’t just a nice to have, it’s a medical necessity.
The NHS recommends that people over 65 should heat their homes to 18 degrees because they are more vulnerable to cold weather. It’s not enough to just put a jumper on or take a hot water bottle to bed. As we all get older our immune systems aren’t as robust as they once were making older people more susceptible to respiratory infections.
Age UK have expressed their concern saying, “it is the wrong policy choice” and “will potentially jeopardise the health as well as the finances of millions of older people this winter.”
They have called on the Government to think again. So far, their petition has over half a million signatures.
Secondly, it has been estimated that there are a million pensioners who are eligible for pension credit but haven’t claimed for it. This group are among the hardest to reach because they aren’t online and some will be suffering from age related conditions that would make it difficult to apply, such as sight loss or dementia. Yet, knowing this the Labour Government has chosen to use pension credit as a gateway benefit through which to claim winter the fuel allowance. Sadly, some of those eligible will miss out.
Thirdly, the threshold to qualify is extremely low. Pension credit is only available to pensioners with an income of £11,343 or below, or a joint income of just over £17,000. There is also no taper so pensioners who are just above the threshold will miss out entirely.
Lastly it seems odd, perhaps even hypocritical, that while this Labour Government has chosen to scrap a universal benefit for one age group, the winter fuel allowance, it is introducing a universal benefit for another age group, free breakfasts for all primary school children.
Clearly the vast majority of parents have the means to give their child a nutritious start to the day. This benefit could have been extended to those in receipt of free school meals but instead it will be free for all.
So why take from one group and give to another? Well, only Labour can explain its woolly thinking. However, older voters are more likely to vote Conservative and younger voters, those perhaps who have children in primary school, were more likely to vote Labour at the last election.
I am bringing a motion to Full Council calling on the Leader of the Council to write to the Chancellor asking her to reconsider this policy and for the Council to run an awareness campaign encouraging people to apply for pension credit.
I will continue to campaign against this cruel and dangerous policy.
We don’t know yet what is coming in Labour’s long awaited Budget but if their start in Government is anything to go by one thing is certain, Kier Starmer’s Britain is no country for old men, or women – sadly.
Pauline Jorgensen is the leader of Wokingham Conservatives
