A pensioner has said he is ‘scared for the winter’ because he can’t afford to put the heating on as Labour prepares to scrap the winter fuel allowance from millions.
Simon Moss, a 70-year-old retired customer service assistant, is facing a harsh winter ahead in his cold housing association bungalow.
He already limits his shopping to once a month and has given up alcohol, cigarettes, and holidays, as well as little indulgences like Sky TV. He also has two Universal Credit children, whom he makes every effort to support.
He is one of 11.8 million people in the UK who say they don’t have enough to live on, according to a new report from Christians Against Poverty.
They say their clients are typically £ 273 a month short of what they need to be able to cover their basics, such as food, energy bills, and rent.
Mr Moss, from Sunderland, said, ‘Life is a struggle; I never go out and hardly ever drink anymore.
‘I’m scared for the winter.’
Labour’s plans would see only pensioners on incomes low enough to receive pension credit getting winter fuel payments worth up to £300 this year, despite fears that many will be forced to choose between heating and eating.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the government would not ‘play fast and loose’ with the nation’s finances as she defended the decision to means test pensioners’ winter fuel payments.
She told BBC Breakfast: ‘We have to make sure that we can fiscally be responsible so that we can grow our economy so that we can pay for our public services.
‘And we said that in the run-up to the general election. What we didn’t realise is that absolute mess the Tories had left the… state of the finances, and we’re having to make difficult decisions.’
She said the government was taking action to support pensioners, with the household support fund extended to ‘help people who maybe are not entitled to pension credit, who are just above that threshold, who may struggle this winter’.
Protecting the state pension triple lock, which looks set to give an above-inflation rise in line with average earnings, also gives ‘some protection’, she said.
She acknowledged it was a ‘difficult choice’ but it was due to the ‘difficult circumstances because of the previous government and what they did’.
It is of little consolation to Mr Moss, who a few years ago found himself in a difficult financial situation and sought help from Christians Against Poverty (CAP).
With the assistance of his CAP Debt Centre Manager, he was able to go debt-free through a Debt Relief Order.
However, despite this relief, managing his finances remains a constant struggle.
People who have now retired have worked hard all their lives, and their entire weekly income is just over £200 a week. They qualify for pension credits, so they have to pay for everything, and now they are having their winter fuel payment taken from them. It’s okay for these politicians; they don’t have to worry about their winter fuel bills. Why? Because they are wealthy!
And don’t forget our government protects illegal immigrants and wraps them in cotton wool, but for those Brits that were born in the UK, well they can go and do one! What a warped world we live in.
How many asylum seekers will be cold this winter? It’s unbelievable what’s happening to our once great country – we look after everybody but our own. I bet all the immigrants will be nice, warm and toasty in their four-star hotels, with three square meals a day, but our pensioners go cold and hungry.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 