Local MP Robbie Moore has called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the Labour Government to reverse its plan to scrap the Winter Fuel Payment following data which shows 83% of previously eligible pensioners in the Bradford District will lose the support.
The data, collated by Age UK, shows that whilst 77,165 Bradfordians were eligible for Winter Fuel payments in 2022-23, the number to be eligible following Labour’s decision will be 12,534, resulting in 64,631 people losing payment (or 83.76%).
Just weeks after the election, the new Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the cut to the Winter Fuel Payment which helps pensioners with their heating bills during the winter, would be reduced by between £100 and £300.
The previous government delivered nearly 12 million Winter Fuel Payments and Pensioner Cost of Living Payments to pensioners during winter 2023-24.
Labour’s scrapping of the Winter Fuel Payment comes despite Labour’s Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones MP, saying that Labour had ‘no plans to make changes’ to pensioner benefits.
Local MP Robbie Moore says he will vote against the measures in a debate in Parliament on the issues next week.
Charity Age Uk say: “Means-testing will cause significant harm for as many as two million older people who are living on low incomes, or who face unavoidably large energy bills due to ill health. These people simply cannot afford to go without the money this winter. At Age UK we are deeply concerned by this policy for a number of reasons”
Robbie Moore MP said:
“The new Labour Government has chosen to remove the Winter Fuel Payment from over 64,000 pensioners across our area this winter, which will have a devastating impact on some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
As Age UK have rightly pointed out, these measures could mean that nearly two million pensioners, who badly need the money to stay warm this winter, will not receive these payments and will be in serious trouble as a result.
Pensioners across Keighley and Ilkley must be afforded dignity and respect in retirement, and I will be voting against these disastrous measures and making our opposition to these plans heard in Parliament in the coming week.”
