Protect Pensioners From Labour's Winter Fuel Cut
Join the fight to save the Winter Fuel Payment.
Older people in our community are worried. Worried about how they will afford to heat their homes when we get into the colder months. Household heating bills are set to rise again this winter. Yet one of the first acts of this new Labour Government has been to remove the £300 winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners - including 2 million who Age UK say will struggle to pay their energy bills as a result. Up to 20,900 here in Norwich will lose their allowance.
Stopping these payments is just plain wrong - and we're determined to fight it.
Vulnerable older people in our community should not be forced to choose between eating and heating this winter. Major charities - including Age UK - have spoken out against this cut, arguing it risks damaging the health of so many older people.
Lib Dem MPs in Parliament have been leading calls for the new Government to re-think this damaging decision.
You can back our campaign at www.LibDems.org.uk/Winter.
The Labour Government must re-think these plans. We all know that the Conservatives wrecked the economy. But it is not right that Labour are expecting vulnerable older people to pay the price to fix it. Back the campaign today to get a fairer deal for older people - and stop the cuts to the winter fuel payments.
Here in Norwich, our councillors have been making representations on your behalf at a local level:
Cllr Sharon Blundell
Lib Dem County Councillor for Costessey, Sharon Blundell, said:
"The government need to seriously rethink what they are doing to the pensioners in our country. Keeping warm in your home should not be a luxury.
When the Conservative government looked at stopping the winter fuel payment, there was uproar from Labour, saying 4000 people would die. Has that changed? I don't want to see anyone dying in their home due to not being able to afford to heat it."
Watch her speech below:
Cllr Judith Lubbock
Cllr Judith Lubbock said:
"Many experts have criticised the policy for limiting the payments to a much too narrow group of pensioners. 83% of those living in Norwich are no longer eligible. Many are already struggling with bills, and are now wracked with worry about how they are going to cope this winter. We know this decision could force vulnerable people to choose between heating and eating when the temperatures drop.
I believe the previous Tory government were wrong to introduce payments to every pensioner, knowing that this would include millionaires, and those living abroad. It was an unfair way of distributing help. But just as that was wrong, so too is the idea that the allowance can just as quickly be stripped away. It is not a fair way to distribute the allowance, particularly with energy bills set to rise another 10% in October."
Watch Judith's speech here: