Pensioners condemn 'unfair' fuel allowance cut

Margaret Fleet says she feels "angry" after losing her £600 winter fuel allowance

Pensioners in North East Lincolnshire have spoken out about "awful", "terrible" and "unfair" winter fuel allowance cuts.

Many of those attending a social club for older people at Carr Lane Social Club in Grimsby were unhappy with the changes.

Labour MP for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, Melanie Onn, has written a letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves discussing her reservations about the cuts.

Ms Reeves, on announcing the cuts on 29 July, said she had to make "urgent decisions" because of the previous government's "undisclosed" overspending.

Margaret Fleet lives on her own and has lost her winter fuel payment, which came to £600 as she is over 80.

She said: “I’m always cold in the winter – but you’ve just got to pay up and that’s it.”

Mrs Fleet said although she feels she can cope with the loss of the fuel allowance payment, she is worried potential cuts to the single person's council tax allowance could leave her "a lot" worse off.

"That would be a lot for me,” she said.

Mrs Fleet said she blamed Sir Keir Starmer for the cuts, stating: “Personally I think he’s made a beeline for pensioners and I think it’s absolutely awful.”

The social club is run by the Friendship at Home charity

Avril Jackson, who described herself as “only just above the threshold”, has lost her allowance of £300, which she said was "terrible" and "awful".

She said: “When you get to my age and you’ve worked all your life, and paid everything towards it, it’s not fair.

“It’s a lot of money to take away. It does make a big difference.”

'Extreme anxiety'

Writing in a letter to the Chancellor on Friday, Ms Onn said the cuts had caused "extreme anxiety amongst my constituents".

She said many "rely on the winter fuel allowance to ensure their homes are warm through the colder months”.

In the letter, she suggested a "taper" measure should be added, as many of those who will be affected are pensioners who are "just over the threshold" for receiving Pension Credit.

Ms Onn said she was working with local agencies including Citizens Advice and hoped the Chancellor would look at options to help "those most in need".

'Difficult decisions'

Speaking after Ms Reeves blamed the previous government's "undisclosed" overspending for the decision, shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt said her claims were “spurious”.

Mr Hunt said the Conservatives had been open about the state of the public finances while in power, and Ms Reeves had held talks with Treasury officials before the election.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Sunday, Leader of the House of Commons Lucy Powell said she could not see a scenario in which Ms Reeves abandons her plan, and warned there could have been a "run on the pound" had the government not taken action on public finances.

Ms Powell acknowledged losing the payment would make things even tighter for pensioners, but defended the government for taking "really difficult decisions" such as targeting winter fuel payments.

"The reason we are doing that is because the deficit was much higher than anyone thought, spending was higher than anyone thought," she said.

"If we hadn't taken that action we'd have seen a run on the pound, the economy crashing and the people who pay the heaviest price for that are the poorest, including pensioners and those on fixed incomes. That stability is really important for living standards."

Windfall tax

Meanwhile, on the north bank of the Humber, Hull City Council leader Mike Ross said the move was "extremely worrying", adding that the Liberal Democrat-led authority would do everything possible to support those affected.

"Our party leader, Ed Davey, has described it as the government's first big mistake and I agree entirely with that." Mr Ross said.

He told BBC Radio Humberside that he understood the government was trying to "keep on top of the finances", but said "this is going to leave thousands of pensioners across Hull in real financial difficulty".

Calling for a rethink, Mr Ross said the government would do better to reverse tax cuts for banks, introduce "a proper windfall tax" on oil and gas companies and do more to collect unpaid taxes.

"Those are just three of the things that could be done to bridge the gap, rather than hitting some of the most vulnerable people in society," he added.

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