The full new state pension may increase to almost £12,000 a year in April 2025. Yet few pensioners will be celebrating as first they have to get through a tough winter.
Incredibly, thanks to PM Keir Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves, the triple lock increase will only cover a fraction of the money they are set to lose this winter.
For years, Labour has been attacking the Conservatives for failing to support the poorest in society. That’s despite the Tories spending hundreds of billions helping Britons survive pandemic lockdowns and the cost-of-living crisis.
Now Labour is in power, it’s turning the screw on pensioners.
Reeves’ very first act was to strip 10million of their Winter Fuel Payment. It may well be the defining moment of her political career.
The decision will cost pensioners £200 a year, or £300 if they’re over 80.
This has triggered a huge backlash from campaigners. I literally gasped out loud when she made the announcement.
I never imagined Reeves would do that. But she did.
And that’s not the only way pensioners will be poorer this winter.
Last year, the Conservative government found money to fund a Pensioner Cost of Living Payment worth £150 or £300.
That was on top of the Winter Fuel Payment.
So in total, pensioners got up to £600 more support last year from the Tories than they’ll get this year under Labour.
It gets worse.
In November 2023, low income pensioners who claimed means-tested top-up Pension Credit got a £300 Cost of Living payment, courtesy of the Tories.
And in February 2024, they got a further £299.
Pension Credit claimants won’t get that money this year. They’ll still get the Winter Fuel Payment, but will nonetheless be worse off overall. Possibly by as much as £900, given that they’ve also lost their Pensioner Cost of Living Payment.
As I’ve said before, if the Tories had dared to strip vulnerable pensioners of vital winter support, there’d have been uproar.
And Labour would have leading the protests.
Yet now it’s Labour who are snatching those benefits away. Many in the party aren’t happy about it, either.
It’s a real shock for those who believe in the mantra “Tory bad, Labour good”.
Now it’s more like the other way around.
It’s not as if the energy crisis is over. The Ofgem energy price cap will jump by £1,717 from October 1.
That will add an extra £149 to the average gas and electricity bill. It’s going to be a long winter for many and April’s triple hike will offer little consolation.
Labour has given in on one front, though.
On Monday, it announced that it was extending the Household Support Fund, which offers support of up to £600 for those in financial difficulty.
The Household Support Fund was originally set up by the Conservative party in 2021 to help vulnerable households cover essentials such as clothing, food, and utilities.
Labour has now extended it for six months at a cost of £421million.
However, people don’t get the money automatically. They have to apply to their local council which will distribute the money to residents it deems eligible.
The Household Support Fund isn’t perfect, but if it wasn’t for the Tories, we’d never have it at all. Who are the bad guys now?
