A LIBERAL Democrat councillor is calling for a rethink on proposals which could see millions of pensioners across the country miss out on the Winter Fuel Allowance.
A vote on the plans is due to take place this week, with the Labour government blaming the move on a public finance black hole left behind by the Conservatives.
But the Lib Dems say the move could see more than 20,000 pensioners in the Lichfield area at risk of losing out on the £300 payment to help with heating bills during the cold winter months.
Cllr Paul Ray, leader of the party’s group at Lichfield District Council, said a rethink was needed.
“The new Labour government has some difficult decisions to make because the country’s finances are in such a mess – but the government needs to rethink the decision to cut the Winter Fuel Payment.
“Across the country, 11 million pensioners are set to lose their Winter Fuel Payment under the plans, including two million that the charity Age UK has said will struggle to afford their energy bills as a result.
“This decision has also been made when the average energy bill is set to rise by £149 a year from October.
“I say that the government should restrict the Winter Fuel Payment, but for the comfortably retired. Setting eligibility at Pension Credit level just isn’t right. That means if pensioners have an annual income of £11,500 they won’t get it.
“The Liberal Democrats are bringing a motion in Parliament to block the government’s plans to scrap Winter Fuel Payments for most pensioners.”
Lichfield’s Labour MP Dave Robertson has said the challenges created by the previous Tory government meant his party needed to meet financial challenges head on.
“The £22billion black hole in the public finances were left by a Conservative government burying its head in the sand and running away from their responsibility to taxpayer.
“Less than two years after Liz Truss’ disastrous mini-budget that crashed the economy over a £45billion overspend, the previous government ignored a looming crisis almost half as large.
“Things are so bad that Office for Budget Responsibility – set up by the Conservatives – is now formally investigating the previous government after its chair expressed concerns over the transparency and credibility of how the Conservatives drew up the last budget.
“This Labour government will never bury its head in the sand like the Tories did.
“We know that after 14 years of scandal, broken promises and failure that people have stopped trusting politicians and we know the only way to rebuild that trust is through honesty and openness. It’s not easy to hear, and it’s not easy to say, but the very least we owe the British public is honesty.
“And with honesty, we are now faced with having to make decisions that no-one wants to make, but we will have to because of the mess that the Conservatives left the country in. It’s hard, but it’s important to fix the foundations of the country and to stop this ever happening again.”