‘I spend my fuel allowance on dinner at The Ivy – others need help’

The Yorkshire town of Harrogate is home to a large population of pensioners – 45,000 of them, to be more or less precise, accounting for 26.9 per cent of its inhabitants. So it seemed as good a location as any to find out what Britain’s senior generation thinks of the government’s plan to means-test the payments put in place to help older people keep warm. But, as is ever the case with politics, views vary – even among those directly affected by the change.
Keith Elliot, 70, retired businessman and auction owner, Harrogate
“Honestly? I’ve been embarrassed every time I received my £300 winter fuel allowance (WFA). There are certainly pensioners who should be helped to heat their homes, but I’m not one of them. I’m very comfortable financially, I don’t need help to pay for my heating, and I know plenty of others who don’t need it either.
“Every time we used to get the money, we’d say, ‘Oh, well, let’s go to The Ivy for a meal, then.’ I’ve got loads of friends who did the same – ‘I’ve got my heating allowance, let’s have another bottle of chablis.’ The fact that the payment was given to people like me at all and not to those more in need is ridiculous.
“I do have a lot of sympathy for those who are just above the threshold. I feel incredibly sorry that this policy will affect them. But what’s the alternative to means-testing? It seems to be that we just throw billions at everybody else, including the millions of pensioners who are very, very comfortable – many of whom can probably afford a second home to heat.
“The policy seemed to incur a lot of waste. Take my mother-in-law, for example. She was in a home paid for by the local authority as she didn’t have savings. But before she died, she was receiving the WFA, despite her heating being paid for by the service – despite her not having her own home. To me, it’s madness. How many more hundreds of thousands of people were in that situation too?
“It is a surprise to me that Labour has introduced this now, having been in power for all of 10 minutes. It’s unusual. But I suppose they’re getting us prepared for what’s to come. And there’s a lot of work to do. I’ve been a Conservative voter for my entire life, aside from twice when I’ve voted for Labour – once when Margaret Thatcher became arrogant, and in this last election.
“I voted for Keir Starmer because the Conservative Party completely lost their way – they were an embarrassment. When they first took over the government, the country was in around £800bn of debt. Now we have around £2.7 trillion. Knock off £300bn, which was apparently the cost of the pandemic, and that’s still £2.4 trillion – three times the amount of debt they started with. Apparently, the interest we’re paying on that is our second-biggest outgoing after the NHS.
“It’s concerning, and so is the trajectory we’re on. Young people now are not able to better their parents like they always have; increasingly we’re a country of haves and have-nots. Hard work doesn’t mean more financial security any more. Something’s got to change. And, while the government has no money – none whatsoever – and there’s no pot to dip in, giving away winter fuel allowance to people like me, using it to go to The Ivy for lunch, isn’t going to help.
“I’m not a politician; I don’t know what the answer is. What I do know is you can’t satisfy everybody all of the time. For now, I’m sorry to rich pensioners bemoaning your WFA cuts – you’re going to have to lose it.”
Mike Sunley, 68, retired administrator, Starbeck, Harrogate
“It’s a scandal that in this country, so many pensioners this winter will be facing a choice between putting their heating on and being warm, or eating a meal.
“I don’t know why we’re being punished. And it’s a real worry. I’ve received the WFA for a couple of years now, and it was a real help. I worked hard for 50 years before I retired at 66 – I worked in offices at insurance firms, banks, solicitors’ offices, everywhere really. I paid into my pension and took my lump sum when it matured. Because I did that and have some savings, I doubt I’ll be getting the WFA. But, the thing is, I’m only 68. Those savings have got to last me a very long time.
“This is all going to hit me financially, and if they scrap the single-person household council tax discount too, it could put a real strain. Already I’m getting to the stage where I’m putting off buying the things I need. I think, ‘Well, should I get this? Can I leave it for another week?’ I can’t be dipping into my savings, because I’ve nothing else to rely on.
“Then there’s the upcoming Budget to contend with. They say there’ll be a rise in pension payments, but that’s not until April. It’s the winter months that people really need it for.
“I’m lucky that I’m relatively healthy, but I have high blood pressure. I take tablets to thin my blood, but stress won’t help. Others who have much worse health will be struggling no end.
“I’ll just about afford it, but I also want to speak up for those who are going to suffer even more. I’m angry with Labour. Just a few weeks after being back in power, they targeted the pensioners straight away – I think it’s wrong. I don’t think we should be singled out. We all feel the cold as much as the next person, and if one of us is entitled to the money then we all should be.
“The government is spending so much money elsewhere, and this is only going to save them £1.4bn. Why do it? Enough is enough.”