Labour Party scraps Winter Fuel Allowance for pensioners...

The Leader of the Opposition speaks...

So much for a 'rebellion'!

Every sitting Labour MP in the Coventry area voted for the cut.

Zarah Sultana voted against the cut but is currently suspended from the Labour Party so is technically an 'independent'.

Zarah Sultana said she voted against the Labour government because she needed "to be able to sleep at night"



An MP has warned of “fatal consequences” after the government won a vote which will see millions of pensioners lose winter fuel payments.

Independent MP for Coventry South, Zarah Sultana, told the BBC thousands of people in her constituency would be affected.

The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the measure was necessary to stabilise the economy and that the government was putting "mitigations" in place.

Zarah Sultana, who is currently suspended by the Labour Party, voted against the government and in favour of a motion to block the cut in winter fuel payment.

“I've had constituents who have told me that they will probably freeze to death. That's them, in their words, I'm quoting," she said.

“They've told me that they have chronic, obstructive pulmonary disease and live in fear of getting a chest infection and that they can't afford to heat their homes increasing their risk.

"You know, there is research to show that cold homes kill and this policy could have fatal consequences."

Asked about the move to means-test the benefit, Ms Sultana said: “For me, universality is a key principle. Here we have universal provision so no-one slips through the cracks.”

Ms Sultana was suspended by Labour in July for defying the Labour whip and voting to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

“I have to stand up for what I believe are the true values of the Labour Party and in doing so I've made difficult decisions in terms of defying the whip," she said.

"But I need to be able to sleep at night, knowing that I'm protecting the most vulnerable in my constituency.”

On Tuesday, Ms Sultana was joined by two other Warwickshire MPs in voting to block the cut in winter fuel payment - Kenilworth and Southam's Conservative MP Jeremy Wright and Manuela Perteghella, the Liberal Democrat MP for Stratford-on-Avon.

The remaining six MPs across Coventry and Warwickshire are all Labour and voted against blocking the cut.

Coventry OAPs stripped of Winter Fuel Allowance question 'if life is worth living'



'I wonder why life is worth living' - the heartbreak of Coventry pensioners as they face winter without their fuel allowance. The stark statement was made by Coventry South MP, Zarah Zultana when she appeared on Newsnight on BBC2 last night (September 23).

She said it was one of many upsetting statements made by constituents who had contacted her since the government revealed plans to change who is eligible for winter fuel allowance payments. Under the now approved plan, only those who claim pension credit or other means-tested benefits will receive help with their fuel bills.

She told BBC Newsnight presenter Victoria Derbyshire that the issue and the impact of the decision has prompted the largest number of people getting in touch since she was re-elected back in July. The MP was stripped of the Labour whip after voting against the government on an amendment to the Kings Speech.

She claimed it is 'always the working class communities' who bear the brunt of 'short-term decisions' including the one taken to stop winter fuel allowance for all OAPs.

"As constituency MP, I have so many people get in touch, the most since I was re-elected, saying they are worried about this winter, they are worried about the decisions around heating and eating, and some people have are just questioning why life is worth living," she said.

The now independent MP, who lost the Labour whip and was among those who voted to stop the plans, added that it was 'avoidable poverty' due to political decisions. The BBC presenter said: "Sorry, did you say that pensioners are questioning whether life is worth living?"

To which the local MP said: "I've had emails, letters and I have had conversations with pensioners where they have explicitly said 'I wonder why life is worth living if this is what I have to go through, I have worked hard all my life and now I am just worried, and is life worth living'.

"I think that is absolutely harrowing and it is not something that a Labour government should be doing. If a Labour government has a moral mission, it must be to end child poverty, it must be to end poverty and this (the winter fuel allowance decision) is incorrect, it is unjustifiable and I am worried about this winter with excess deaths."

Labour’s war on pensioners has now become sadistic



Sir Keir Starmer declared at the Labour party conference this week that any criticism of him and his government was “water off a duck’s back”.

But surely, when a charity dedicated to the care and dignity of the elderly is criticising you, that cannot simply be shrugged off?

Despite the Government’s desire for it to disappear, the outrage over cuts to winter fuel payments is showing no sign of dying down. Union leaders have on Wednesday again demanded that Rachel Reeves should “U-turn” over the decision, after winning a non-binding vote at the conference in Liverpool.

It should be about the fifth wake-up call for the Chancellor over this disastrous policy but, as she and the Prime Minister indicated in their speeches, they are determined to forge ahead.

I’d humbly suggest to Sir Keir and his Chancellor that now is the time to listen to criticism and consider that they might actually be wrong.

Taking away energy bill support worth up to £300 from 10 million pensioners was the first major action of Sir Keir’s new government. It was greeted with dismay back in July, but the more time passes, the more unjustifiable this policy becomes.

Firstly, it makes no economic sense. Commons leader, Lucy Powell, argued the move, which will save just £1.4bn a year, was necessary to stop a run on the pound. Sir Keir has also tried to argue it was vital to save the NHS. Both are laughable.

By restricting the allowance to those on pension credit only, the Government is now dealing with a flood of claims for the benefit – each one eating into the alleged savings. There’s also no apparent need to save such a small sum, especially after it last week emerged that the Bank of England had handed Labour a fiscal boost worth up to £10bn.

Secondly, the raid on pensioners is not reasonable in any sense. There are, of course, a handful of retirees who do not need the money, those who spend their winter fuel payment on fine wine every year.

But Labour didn’t just decide to take the money of the very wealthiest, it decided that even pensioners below the poverty line didn’t deserve it either.

Thirdly, and as critics are screaming out, the decision will pile more pressure on the NHS this winter.

Caroline Abrahams, of charity Age UK, has warned that as many as 2.5 million pensioners could have their health compromised by the cut. Labour’s own research previously indicated that removing the allowance could kill close to 4,000 pensioners a year.

Labour is making a statement about who deserves handouts and who doesn’t. The party wants pensioners to financially suffer.

There’s no justifiable reason why Labour should take this money away. This is why this cruel attack on pensioners has now become sadistic.

If Sir Keir and Ms Reeves refuse to listen to the cacophony of warnings around this policy, they are proceeding knowing full well that this policy will kill people. You can sense the unease within Parliament growing around the decision.

Labour promised to protect pensioners in the election. But that promise now appears to be worth very little – and voters will not forget this in a hurry.

I finally had a response from my MP after I wrote to her well before the vote. She simply parroted the official line, saying it was a tough decision that had to be made. At least 'Tash' Ainsworth had the decency to sign his letters, this letter just had a printed signature.

She (Creagh) made her choice (for that is exactly what it was) I hope she realises that the pensioners in her constituency will exercise their choices over the coming years.

Let me guess? It was a copy of a letter from Labour central office repeating the lie that anyone facing hardship could claim Pension Credit and that pensioners would actually be hundreds of pounds better-off as a result of the triple-lock?

Spot on

Nearly three million over-80s to be hit by Chancellor’s winter fuel raid



Nearly three million pensioners aged 80 and above will lose out as a result of Labour’s winter fuel raid, the Government has estimated.

Ministers have predicted that just over 10 million retirees, of whom 2.7 million are 80 or over, will be left with less to spend this winter because of the controversial decision to means test the benefit.

Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, hopes to save £1.4 billion a year by stripping millions of pensioners of the payments, worth up to £300.

The winter fuel allowance used to be available to everyone of pension age, but now only those who receive pension credit and certain other benefits are eligible.

According to estimates provided by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), those aged 70-74 will be most hit by the change, with just over 2.7 million pensioners seeing a drop in their disposable income.

This is followed by the 80-plus category with roughly 2.66 million people affected; those aged 69 and under at 2.4 million; and those aged 75-79 at 2.3 million.

The DWP’s figures were calculated by subtracting the number of pension credit recipients for each region and age group from the number of people who would have previously been eligible for the winter fuel allowance.

The Government has faced a mounting backlash over its decision to scale back the payments. On Thursday, Andy Haldane, the former chief economist at the Bank of England, called the move “bad politics and probably bad economics as well”.

Sir Keir Starmer was also dealt a humiliating blow on the final day of the Labour Party conference on Wednesday as delegates voted to oppose the winter fuel raid.

The revolt, led by trade unions, will pile pressure on the Chancellor to reverse the cut affecting millions of pensioners in next month’s Budget.

The vote was non-binding, however, the rebuke over one of the first financial decisions taken by Labour in office was an embarrassment for No 10.

The stark number of Nuneaton pensioners who stand to have winter fuel allowance cut



Almost 15,000 pensioners in the Nuneaton area face losing their winter fuel allowance payment. The actual figure for the Nuneaton constituency, which includes Arley and Hartshill, stands at 14,992 people.

The total figure for the whole borough, including Bedworth, is likely to be significantly more. It is for this reason that the local Conservatives believe that the impact of the cut needs to be debated locally.

As of this winter, only those who who claim pension credit or other means-tested benefits will receive help with their fuel bills. The local Tories say that this issue, along with four others, needs to be discussed by local councillors.

They put forward a number of motions all of which will be debated at an extraordinary meeting at the Town Hall next week. In regards to the winter fuel payment cuts, the group's motion reads: "The Winter Fuel Payment has been a lifeline for many older people across the UK and that restricting its availability solely to those on Pension Credit risks leaving many pensioners in financial hardship.

"While some pensioners currently in receipt of the Winter Fuel Payment may not require it, many thousands across Nuneaton and Bedworth sit just above the cut-off for Pension Credit and will now lose their allowance.

"The decision to means-test Winter Fuel Payments, especially with such short notice and without adequate compensatory measures, is deeply unfair and will disproportionately affect the health and well-being of our poorest older residents.

"The government’s approach fails to consider the administrative barriers and stigma that prevent eligible pensioners from claiming Pension Credit, leaving many without the support they desperately need."

It calls on the council to agree to a number of measures which include bringing forward a council-led local awareness campaign to alert those eligible for Pension Credit, which may increase those who could then receive the winter fuel allowance.

Also to request the council leader to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging a review of the decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment and asking the government to ensure that vulnerable pensioners, particularly those who do not claim Pension Credit, are protected from fuel poverty.

To also lobby the new MPS to ask them to support local residents by voting against the changes in Parliament. The motion also calls for the council to commit to signing the ‘Save the Winter Fuel Payment for Struggling Pensioners’ petition being run by Age UK and to encourage local efforts to promote Pension Credit uptake through council services and partnerships with local charities and community organisations.

The extraordinary meeting is being held on Friday, October 4 at the Town Hall from 6pm. Any member of the public can attend.