Scottish Greens have condemned Labour MPs who have voted to scrap the crucial winter fuel payment for pensioners. They were elected on a promise of ‘change’, yet they are choosing to further 14 years of Tory austerity, forcing more poverty and more pain on to older people.
Only 12% of pensioners are guaranteed to keep their Winter Fuel Payment. The UK Chancellor seems to have chosen to punish pensioners, and their shoulders are bearing the brunt of budget cuts. However, public attitudes show a clear desire for wealth to be taxed more. This cut to winter fuel payment is a political choice by a UK Labour government that is showing itself to be every bit as callous as the Tories.
Labour MPs seem to have taken this decision without assessing the impact of the Winter Fuel Payment. Energy bills are set to increase by 10% in October and there are disastrous consequences predicted for the lives of pensioners across Glasgow.
The loss of £300 will make life more difficult for thousands who are already struggling to manage their finances. Many pensioners will have no other option but to make cutbacks and they will experience further anxiety about high energy costs, which impacts their health.
Pensioners will try and manage, for example, spending time in public places to keep warm, by wearing extra clothes, going to bed early, reducing the use of their cooker, and keeping the lights or heating off in their homes to save on electricity.
We are aware that pensioners on low incomes, who are disabled, with long-term health conditions, are unpaid carers, women, or from working-class backgrounds are among those particularly affected by this devastating cut. Even more of them will be plunged into poverty.
The UK Government have offered nothing to help them if they are just above the line for Pension Credit. It is extremely concerning that someone whose income is £13,000 a year can bear the weight of this UK Government’s flawed decision.
Winter Fuel Payment is now limited to those in receipt of Pension Credit. This creates stigma. Means testing is divisive and questions arise about who is worthy of receiving services and who is not.
There is a focus on increasing uptake of Pension Credit but this does not help enough people on its own. Any rise in the State Pension from next April is unrelated to the Winter Fuel payment and this does not help pensioners over this winter.
We need real and bold action from our governments to lower costs and transform our broken energy market. That means the removal of the huge loopholes from the Windfall Tax. More investment is required in renewables. There has to be a break of the link between the price of fossil fuels and the clean green energy that Scotland is generating cheaply.
