'Cruel, inhumane and immoral!' Former Ukip leader in furious debate after campaigner claims Winter Fuel Payment axe is 'fair'

'Cruel, inhumane and immoral!' Former Ukip leader in furious debate after campaigner claims Winter Fuel Payment axe is 'fair'

'Cruel, inhumane and immoral!' Former UKIP leader in furious debate after campaigner claims Winter Fuel Payment axe is 'fair'

GB News
Gabrielle Wilde

By Gabrielle Wilde


Published: 11/09/2024

- 13:22

Yesterday MPs voted in favour of the Winter Fuel Payment being means tested for pensioners

Former Ukip leader Henry Bolton blasted the Winter Fuel Payment axe as "cruel, inhumane and immoral" whilst in a fiery debate with a campaigner on GB News.

Yesterday, MPs voted in favour of the Winter Fuel Payment being means tested for pensioners - but a significant number of Labour MPs absatained from the vote, worried about the impact on the elderly people in their constituencies.


Speaking on GB News this morning, Bolton fumed that the cuts will cause "stress and anxiety" for the elderly people who do not meet the threshold for the payments.

He said: "I think the Government just simply doesn't grasp the stress and the anxiety and the complexity that these sorts of things can cause some elderly people.

Ben Cope, Henry Bolton

Henry Bolton fumed over the Winter Fuel Payment axe

GB News

"I think it's an outrageous move that they've made. In addition to that, the Labour Government repeatedly indicated to the British nation that it would not do this.

"And then one of the first things it does in power is to actually do it.

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"Then we've got Labour MPs, including eleven members of the cabinet, who are themselves drawing thousands of pounds to cover their fuel cost.

"On every level, these are cruel, inhumane and immoral steps that the government has taken."

Political commentator from Young Voice UK, Ben Cope disagreed and argued that the steps were "fair and economical."

He explained: "There is a large number of very wealthy pensions in the UK. In fact, it's the richest demographic with one in four being being millionaires.

"So I think we need to we need to move away from a system where we have universal benefits for pensioners.

Pensioners

MPs voted in favour of the Winter Fuel Payment being means-tested for pensioners

PA

"Then we meet means test all other kinds of benefits for other members of the public. It's a step in the right direction. There are clearly questions about how exactly this has been implemented.

"There might be some who will be called out, either they'll be on the margin line or they might be below it, but not claiming pension credits at the moment."

Despite claiming that it is a fair plan, the campaigner said he felt that it could have been better implemented.

He said: "I think there are ways this could be implemented better. For example, I think pension credit should be received automatically, and I think we should maybe look at increasing that higher while means testing the other benefits that pensioners receive."

The Former UKIP leader fumed over the 'outrageous' decisions

GB News

The Commons voted in favour of the Winter Fuel Payment being means-tested for pensioners, with the proposed plans sailing through with the support of 347 Labour MPs.

Conservative MPs were united in opposing the move, with 112 voting in favour of maintaining Winter Fuel Payments.

Reform UK's five MPs also voted against Starmer's move, with 72 Liberal Democrats, four Green MPs and nine SNP MPs joining the anti-axing group.

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