fuel poverty

Zarah Sultana MP: Are Labour about to be the new party of austerity?

Spread the love

https://www.standard.co.uk/comment/zarah-sultana-mp-winter-fuel-payments-labour-pensioners-b1180941.html

By Zarah Sultana

Politics is a matter of life and death.

Take the Labour Government’s decision to means-test winter fuel payments. Over nine million pensioners, including many on just £12,000 a year, will lose help as we head into the cold months. Some will be forced to turn down the heating. Cold homes are linked to higher rates of strokes, heart attacks and respiratory diseases, so this policy could have fatal consequences.

That harm is entirely avoidable. These are not “tough choices” for politicians, but for those forced to choose between heating their homes and eating. Maintaining universal winter fuel payments costs £1.4 billion. Meanwhile, a modest two per cent wealth tax on assets over £10 million could raise £24 billion, more than enough to fund winter fuel payments, scrap the two-child benefit cap and support public sector workers whose wages have stagnated for over a decade.

The false narrative that resources are too limited to support both the elderly and the young pits us against each other. Within a few weeks in office, the new Labour Government has already denied help to all children with more than one sibling, and now to older people too. The Prime Minister talks about growth, but the only thing that is growing so far is avoidable poverty. No child should be born into poverty due to an arbitrary limit on family support, just as no pensioner should freeze because of arbitrary means-testing. There is still time to change course and not go ahead with this.

…

https://www.standard.co.uk/comment/zarah-sultana-mp-winter-fuel-payments-labour-pensioners-b1180941.html

Keir Starmer says pensioners can freeze to death and poor children can starve and be condemned to failure and misery all their lives.
Keir Starmer says pensioners can freeze to death and poor children can starve and be condemned to failure and misery all their lives.

The dishonesty of Rachel Reeves

Continue ReadingZarah Sultana MP: Are Labour about to be the new party of austerity?

Guardian Editorial: Winter fuel payments: a mess of Labour’s own making over benefit cuts

Spread the love

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/sep/08/the-guardian-view-on-winter-fuel-payments-a-mess-of-labours-own-making-over-benefit-cuts

…

The government can’t cure the lethal consequences of deprivation by increasing deprivation. Eligibility for the payment will be linked to pension credit, but experts say that this will see 1.6 million pensioners who are below the poverty line lose vital financial support during the coldest months. With a majority of 167, the government will comfortably win Tuesday’s vote on the issue. However, it has lost the argument, largely because ministers seem incapable of making a coherent case for their policy.

The risible claim that there would be a “run on the pound” if there were not spending cuts was dismissed in the City. Ministers then said that they want to increase pension credit uptake – currently 880,000 eligible people do not claim it – but many are put off by the 243 questions that need to be answered in the application form. Sir Keir argues that the losses would be offset by rises in the state pension. But that won’t wash with many pensioners who know such increases were coming anyway and have been less than impressed by Labour discarding its social care commitments.

…

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/sep/08/the-guardian-view-on-winter-fuel-payments-a-mess-of-labours-own-making-over-benefit-cuts

Keir Starmer says pensioners can freeze to death and poor children can starve and be condemned to failure and misery all their lives.
Keir Starmer says pensioners can freeze to death and poor children can starve and be condemned to failure and misery all their lives.
Continue ReadingGuardian Editorial: Winter fuel payments: a mess of Labour’s own making over benefit cuts

Starmer defends moves to cut winter fuel payments

Spread the love

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/starmer-defends-moves-to-cut-winter-fuel-payments

An elderly lady with her electric fire on at home in Liverpool

PRIME Minister Sir Keir Starmer faced shouts of “shame” during PMQs today as he defended moves to cut winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners.

Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak asked why the Prime Minister preferred to fund pay rises for train drivers rather than maintain the payments.

Sir Keir struggled to respond, robotically repeating that the Tories had bequeathed him a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.

He said “no prime minister wants to do what we have to do” as he argued the “tough decision” was required to “stabilise our economy.”

…

People in England and Wales not in receipt of pension credit or other means-tested benefits will lose out under the policy, which MPs are expected to vote on next week.

It is expected to reduce the number of pensioners in receipt of the up to £300 payment by 10 million, from 11.4m to 1.5m, saving around £1.4bn this year.

…

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/starmer-defends-moves-to-cut-winter-fuel-payments

Continue ReadingStarmer defends moves to cut winter fuel payments

Greens respond to new energy price cap rise

Spread the love
Image of the Green Party's Carla Denyer on BBC Question Time.
Image of the Green Party’s Carla Denyer on BBC Question Time.

Responding to news that energy regulator Ofgem has raised the price cap by 9.5 per cent just before the onset of winter, Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said: 

“Consumers are paying high prices for a crisis not of their making. This will be deeply worrying news for all those people already struggling to pay their bills. 

“The government has said that establishing GB Energy will reduce bills in the future, which would be welcome. However, that aim will only be achieved if the government invests in improving the energy efficiency of homes too. 

“We need a nationwide programme of government-backed, council-delivered home insulation starting immediately to help people keep their bills down for good. 

“We also now need the government to maintain the winter fuel payments for all pensioners and end means testing so that they know they can afford to keep warm. 

“We could reduce bills for the long term and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by building new homes that are easier and cheaper to heat and boosting insulation in existing homes. Insulating people’s homes means they can stay warm while using less energy, save money and produce fewer harmful carbon emissions.” 

Continue ReadingGreens respond to new energy price cap rise

Average annual energy bill to rise by 10% to £1,717 in Great Britain from October

Spread the love
Image of cash and pre-payment meter key
Image of cash and pre-payment meter key

https://www.theguardian.com/money/article/2024/aug/23/average-annual-energy-bill-rise-great-britain-october-ofgem

Campaigners fear increase by £149 in energy price cap by Ofgem will put more pressure on household

…

Households in Great Britain will begin the run-up to winter with a 10% increase in their energy bills after the industry regulator increased its cap on gas and electricity prices from October.

Under the new price cap, the average annual dual-fuel energy bill will rise to £1,717 a year, up £149 from its current level of £1,568, which has been in place since July.

The price cap is set every quarter by Ofgem, the energy regulator for Great Britain, and imposes a maximum on how much suppliers can charge their 28 million household customers per unit of gas and electricity.

It is expressed in terms of how much the average home would pay at this rate for their typical annual energy use, which means a cold autumn and winter could push bills even higher if households need to keep the heating on for longer.

Households in Great Britain will begin the run-up to winter with a 10% increase in their energy bills after the industry regulator increased its cap on gas and electricity prices from October.

Under the new price cap, the average annual dual-fuel energy bill will rise to £1,717 a year, up £149 from its current level of £1,568, which has been in place since July.

The price cap is set every quarter by Ofgem, the energy regulator for Great Britain, and imposes a maximum on how much suppliers can charge their 28 million household customers per unit of gas and electricity.

It is expressed in terms of how much the average home would pay at this rate for their typical annual energy use, which means a cold autumn and winter could push bills even higher if households need to keep the heating on for longer.

…

Energy bills set to rise by 10 per cent while greedy energy companies rake in obscene profits

Martin Lewis calls for rethink over plan to limit winter fuel payments

Labour and Tories blame each other for energy bill rise

Continue ReadingAverage annual energy bill to rise by 10% to £1,717 in Great Britain from October