Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned of "excess deaths" this winter as a result of her controversial decision to cut the Winter Fuel Payment for tens of millions of pensioners.
Reeves, who has defended her move as the "right decision", has been widely criticised ahead of the looming budget, which could trigger further blows to Britain's elderly community.
Speaking to GB News, pensioner Susan Mensforth said the move is "totally unjust", and many pensioners who no longer qualify for the benefit are "in poverty".
Mensforth, 79, told host Patrick Christys: "I think that the threshold has been set for far too low. There are many people on Pension Credit that are in poverty in any case, but people just above that are also in poverty.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been criticised by pensioners across the UK following her decision
PA / GB News
"The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association says that you need, for a minimum lifestyle, £14,400 a year to live on. Now, those who are just above the Pension credit, they're absolutely devastated by this, and I call it utter cruelty. I've got savings, so I'm lucky."
Expressing her concerns for those in her local area of Buxton in North Derbyshire, where temperatures can plummet to as low as minus ten degrees, Mensforth warned that the Labour government could be seeing "excess deaths" as a result of pensioners freezing in their homes.
Mensforth said: "I believe in fighting for people, for justice. When you get to my age as a pensioner, you can't take the exercise you used to get to get the circulation going, so it's going to lead to excess deaths.
"I belong to an organisation which campaigns for the elderly called Silver Voices, and there are other campaigns such as the National Pensioners Convention and Age UK.
Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer have faced tough scrutiny for their financial policies since winning the election in July
PA"They've got members who are absolutely terrified about how they're going to get through the winter."
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Admitting she has had to "cut back" on essentials following the news of her benefit being cut, Mensforth highlighted how millions across Britain will be forced to choose between "heating and eating" to get through the tough winter months.
Mensforth told Patrick: "Energy prices have just gone up again. Older people tend to spend much more of the day and obviously evening in their homes.
"So they need lighting, they need heating, but people are having to take the choice between eating and heating. I've cut back on things, but there are some people are having to absolutely cut out all but essentials."
She added: "And when you've worked and paid into the system all of your life, it seems totally unjust."
Susan Mensforth has warned of excess deaths for pensioners this winter as a result of the cuts
GB News
Hitting out at her local MP, Labour's Jon Pearce, Mensworth claimed that he is among the government members who believe pensioners who are above the threshold are "millionaires".
She fumed: "He's an ex London lawyer who was brought up in the Derby area, not in this area, and he seems to think that anybody above the pension credit limit is a millionaire."
Patrick has also set up a JustGiving fundraising page, to help raise money for Friends of the Elderly, which has raised over £226,000 so far.
To support the cause and make a donation, visit Patrick's JustGiving page HERE.