Keir Starmer accused of 'dismissing a generation' as pensioners prepare for 'bleak' winter: 'It is shocking!'

Keir Starmer accused of 'dismissing a generation' as pensioners prepare for 'bleak' winter: 'It is shocking!'

WATCH NOW: Patrick Christys speaks to a British pensioner following Labour's Winter Fuel Payment cuts

GB News
Georgia Pearce

By Georgia Pearce


Published: 18/09/2024

- 08:12

Updated: 18/09/2024

- 08:22

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

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of "dismissing a generation" as millions of pensioners prepare for the colder months without their Winter Fuel Payment.

Hundreds of Labour MPs voted to scrap the benefit for millions of elderly Britons in a bid to help close their "£22billion black hole" in Government funding.


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

Speaking to GB News, pensioner Francis Moore said he is "shocked" by the decision of the Labour leader and said the PM has "dismissed a generation", who now face a "very bleak winter".

Sir Keir Starmer, pensioner

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of 'dismissing' a generation of Britons after cutting the Winter Fuel Payment

PA / GB News

Speaking to host Patrick Christys, Moore told GB News: "I am hugely upset by the way this Government is going about everything. There are going to be a lot of impoverished pensioners.

"There are around 800,000 people still in the queue for Pension Credit, and warmth is everything. I am suffering from a few issues, and I have noticed as we've had a slightly more chilly September, that I need heat to survive. My little terrier is my thermometer at the moment."

Praising Patrick for his fundraising efforts to help pensioners, Moore called out the Government for "not doing more" to help those elderly Britons in need.

Expressing concern for the rising costs of bills, Moore warned that electricity bills are "going to go through the roof" as we approach the winter.

Rachel Reeves

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has assured she is 'determined to protect the poorest pensioners'

GB News

Moore explained: "That's going to hurt, it's going to hurt everybody and it's going to hurt our industry. But it's really going to take it out on pensioners, and that's my main concern."

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When asked by Patrick how this will impact his financial situation, Moore admitted that he has to budget everything and he has "no room for any luxuries".

Moore told GB News: "It's really tough. I have to watch every single purchase I make because there is no margin. We pensioners, we don't have the luxury of lots of cash.

"We don't have the luxury of parliamentarians who can claim £4,000 to heat their second homes - we don't have that. It's a really tough situation and I'm afraid this government does not get it."

Offering his thoughts on the cuts, Patrick said it looks to be a situation where "millions of pensioners are staring down the barrel of a very bleak winter".

Francis

Francis Moore said he is 'shocked' by the Labour Government's decision to cut the payment

GB News

Moore agreed, adding: "It's looking very bleak, Patrick. It's shocking how a generation that has given so much is now just being dismissed."

Patrick has also set up a JustGiving fundraising page, to help raise money for Friends of the Elderly, which has raised over £130,000 so far.

To support the cause and make a donation, visit Patrick's JustGiving page HERE.

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