Jess Brown-Fuller

Since the announcement of the Government’s plans, I and colleagues across this House have been inundated with heartfelt stories of elderly people across the country who will be unfairly harmed by the removal of the winter fuel allowance. It is concerning that the impact was not properly assessed before the Government took this step. In Chichester, we have 24,000 pensioners who are not receiving pension credits, many of whom sit just above the threshold—constituents such as Sherry, who is 80 and registered disabled. She has to maintain an even living temperature to deal with conditions while living in a 100-year-old cottage with poor insulation. Roy and his wife are in their late 80s and have burned through their meagre savings covering their rising energy bills during this cost of living crisis. Vicky writes to me about having to choose between eating and heating in the current winter months because she will not be able to afford to do both. Our elderly, who have worked hard throughout their lives, are now being abandoned by a Government that should be supporting them when they need help the most. The Liberal Democrats understand the disastrous state our public finances have been left in, due to the fiscal mismanagement of the previous Conservative Government, and we recognise that tough decisions need to be made. However, those decisions should not be made at the expense of our elderly. The burden of this Conservative fiscal chaos needs to be spread to those with the broadest shoulders, rather than punishing those who have already been hit hardest by it. Cutting the winter fuel allowance in the midst of a cost of living crisis will leave thousands of elderly individuals across Chichester and millions across the UK without the financial support they need to stay warm and healthy this winter. With the price cap due to rise in October, it could be argued that the winter fuel allowance is needed this winter more than ever.