Carer of elderly father lambasts Labour for 'disgusting' Winter Fuel Payment cut: 'Sealed the fate of thousands!'

Carer of elderly father lambasts Labour for 'disgusting' Winter Fuel Payment cut: 'Sealed the fate of thousands!'

WATCH NOW: Carer rages at the impact of Winter Fuel Payment cuts on her elderly father

GB News
Georgia Pearce

By Georgia Pearce


Published: 11/09/2024

- 18:41

Almost 400 Labour MPs voted to cut the Winter Fuel Payment, which will affect around 10 million pensioners

Labour have been slammed by the carer and daughter of a British pensioner, following their decision to cut the Winter Fuel Payment benefit.

The £300 allowance was scrapped following a vote in Parliament on Tuesday, as over 300 Labour MPs backed the move which will affect millions of elderly pensioners across the country.


Defending the decision, Chancellor Rachel Reeves assured those affected that the payment "will still be given to those receiving Pension Credit", and she is "determined to protect the most vulnerable".

Expressing her concern for her 83-year-old father Douglas Plant, daughter Catherine hit out at the move by the Government and claimed it is "disgusting", warning that they have "sealed the fate of thousands of pensioners".

Keir Starmer, Catherine Plant

A carer has hit out at Labour for their 'disgusting' decision to cut Winter Fuel Payments for millions of pensioners

PA / GB News

Plant told GB News: "He'll be 84 this coming December, he's recently just come out of hospital. He needs this Winter Fuel Allowance to keep him warm.

"I'm just upset and disgusted that Labour have actually done this."

Highlighting that she is the primary live-in carer for her father alongside four other daily carers, Plant admitted that due to the cuts, they will need to cut back on care services in order to pay their heating bills.

Plant explained: "I'm going to have to cut back now. We have carers that come in four times a day. I'm going to have to cut that back to three times a day to have extra money just to try and put money aside for the winter fuel, because that is now £300 that we've lost.

When asked by GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope what message both herself and her father would like to send to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Plant fumed that she would simply ask him "why have you done it?"

She added: "I've followed the manifestos of every single party in the run up to Number 10 - this was not part of the Labour manifesto.

"Why have you done it now? I think it's a dirty trick. You've basically sealed the fate of thousands and thousands of pensioners, much like my father, and I want to know why."

Christopher then asked Plant how she voted in this Summer's General Election, as she admitted that she "didn't vote Labour", but now vows to "never vote Labour again".

Catherine Plant

Catherine Plant said Labour's decision has 'sealed the fate of thousands of pensioners' this winter

GB News

Plant told GB News: "I didn't vote Labour and I will never vote Labour after what they've just done."

As Christopher revealed that the Plant family's local MP for Derby South Baggy Shanker also voted in favour of scrapping the payments, Catherine said the members who did approve it are "so far removed" from how their actions impact people.

Plant added: "I think they're so far removed, they don't get the full impact of what their actions are doing. And to Baggy, I hope you pleased with yourself.

"Why did your conscience not allow you to vote against this? I'm really, really, really not pleased."

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