COLUMN: Pensioners left in the cold

In his first column since an improved showing for the Lib Dems at the General Election last month, Cllr Glyn Preston tackles a big issue.

“Labour’s plans to cut winter fuel payments to pensioners has come as a nasty shock.

There are some very rich pensioners in Powys who don’t need the winter fuel payment and won’t miss it, but most pensioners are not. To claw back the winter fuel payment from the richest pensioners, the Labour government plan to take it away from all but 10% of Powys pensioners.

31,148 pensioners in Powys will be left in the cold by the Labour Government’s plans. The only pensioners who will keep it are those whose small pensions are topped up by pension credit. Far too many eligible pensioners don’t even claim their credit, either because they don’t know about it or because they worry about dependence on state benefits. For them, this cut will particularly hurt, and we have to make sure they claim. 

To claim pensioner credit, you need to be getting less that £218.15 a week (£332.95 a week for couples).  That’s not enough to keep warm through the winter and keeping warm really matters for elderly people who are home all day. With fuel prices rising once again this winter as the price cap is lifted by 10%, many people are just managing to get by and are dreading what is to come.

As Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey has said, this is the first big mistake by the new Labour Government. Rachel Reeves needs to think again. Yes, take back the allowance from the richest pensioners, but at least make sure that most pensioners who are not rich, and who feel the cold far more than younger people do, have enough to see them through the winter without having to make choices between keeping warm and feeding themselves.

There’s one way to help pensioners cut their fuel bills for the long term, not just for one winter. A nationwide programme of home insulation and the installation of solar panels and heat pumps will not just cut out the draughts, it will save energy bills year in, year out. It will also cut the nation’s dependence on expensive oil and gas and help protect the environment for future generations.”