Tories table council motions demanding reinstatement of Winter Fuel Payments

Conservative councillors say the Labour government's decision will leave pensioners having to choose between heating and eating

Axing Winter Fuel Payments will have a devastating impact on thousands of pensioners across the Bristol region, opposition Conservative councillors warn. Tories on both the city council and South Gloucestershire have tabled motions to their next respective full council meetings demanding that the authorities formally condemn the Labour government’s decision and that civic leaders should write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, urging her to reverse the decision.

They say the move will force many to choose between heating and eating. The universal payments of £200 to £300 a year were given to more than 10million elderly residents in England and Wales, but in July they were scrapped by the Chancellor for all but the poorest pensioners.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said abolishing most of the handouts was needed because of how the previous Conservative government left the country’s finances. The decision has been widely criticised, including by unions and some Labour MPs.

Winter Fuel Payments are now available only to those on Pension Credit and some other means-tested benefits. The Department for Work and Pensions estimates that only 1.5million elderly people will now be entitled to them.

It is expected to save the Treasury £1.3billion this year, which the Tories say is a relatively tiny amount when it will cause so much suffering. South Gloucestershire Council opposition Conservative group leader Cllr Sam Bromiley is calling on the Lib Dem/Labour-run authority to play its part in getting the decision overturned.

His motion will be debated at full council on Wednesday, October 16. It calls on the administration to write to the Chancellor expressing strong opposition and demanding that the benefit is reinstated.

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Cllr Bromiley said: “The decision by the Labour government to cut Winter Fuel Payments is utterly callous and completely unnecessary. I condemn it and call for the decision to be immediately reversed.

“Thousands of pensioners in South Gloucestershire will suffer this winter as a direct result of this mean and short-sighted policy. The Conservative group has submitted this motion because we are unequivocally opposed to the cut in Winter Fuel Payments, and we believe that the council’s joint administration must do its job by standing up for residents and challenging the government on this critical issue.

“I sincerely hope that members of the council’s Labour and Liberal Democrat groups will support our motion when it comes to council later this month. Anything else would be a dereliction of their duty as elected representatives of the people.”

The motion said cutting the payments would have a “devastating impact on thousands of vulnerable elderly people in South Gloucestershire, many of whom rely on this vital support to meet the costs of heating their homes during the coldest months of the year”. It said: “The removal of this allowance will disproportionately affect people on fixed incomes, leaving pensioners at risk of fuel poverty and severe health complications arising from cold weather conditions.”

Meanwhile, Cllr John Goulandris (Conservative, Stoke Bishop) has tabled a similar motion to a full council meeting of Bristol City Council on Tuesday, October 8. It said removing the benefit would result in “massive negative consequences” for pensioners.

His motion said: “This will force many to choose between eating or heating.” It said Labour’s Bristol North West MP Darren Jones, now Chief Secretary to the Treasury, publicly said last year that elderly residents should not lose these payments.

The motion also calls for more “warm spaces” in Bristol because of the likely increase in demand when the scheme begins again this year. It said: “Any new initiative must ensure a fairer geographical spread than previously occurred.

“This outcome was particularly harsh on those areas of the city with a high number of elderly residents. Consequently, there should be at least one warm venue available in every ward.

“In addition, council calls on the leader of council to write to the Chancellor outlining the hardship that her decision will have on many of our pensioners and urging her to reconsider the scrapping of universal Winter fuel payments.” The motion will not be debated because it is low down the running order and there will not be time.

A government spokesperson has said: “We are committed to supporting pensioners – with millions set to see their state pension rise by up to £1,700 this parliament through our commitment to the triple lock. Over a million pensioners will still receive the Winter Fuel Payment, and our drive to boost Pension Credit take up has already seen a 152 per cent increase in claims.

"Many others will also benefit from the £150 Warm Home Discount to help with energy bills over winter while our extension of the Household Support Fund will help with the cost of food, heating and bills.”

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