Clare Wilkins, East Midlands National Pensioners Convention secretary (personal capacity) and Nottingham Socialist Party
The new Labour government continues to face huge anger at its refusal to lift the two-child benefit cap, the winter fuel payment cut, the gifts for access row, and for continuing support for war in the Middle East.
Speakers at the winter fuel payment campaign rally before the National Pensioners Convention’s (NPC) lobby of parliament on 7 October said that the cut is the first of many and called on the government to tax the super-rich rather than attack poor pensioners.
Pressure to reverse the cut continues to grow. Unite and five other trade unions are officially involved in the campaign as well as members of other unions and organisations. Labour Party conference carried a Unite motion to reverse the cut, but Starmer is not bound by this.
The budget on 30 October is a key date. It will determine spending on services and continued underfunding of services – for example to local councils providing vital services for disabled people, young people and others. We need to keep the pressure on. The government has no response other than ‘there is no alternative’ to ‘tough choices’.
Tough choices for pensioners between heating, eating, paying for care and other costs and the stress and anxiety this causes.
Day centres, community centres, libraries, meals on wheels and other services pensioners need to keep warm, eat and socialise have been decimated by council cuts.
The knock-on effects of ill health and reduced or cancelled care packages will place a huge extra burden on a beleaguered, underfunded NHS.
Living in poverty
Two million pensioners already live in poverty and the number is rising. The state pension is the lowest in Europe and only two million get the full amount. In 2017, Labour said there would be 4,000 more excess deaths if the Tory government cut the winter fuel payment.
Meanwhile MPs get an allowance of £3,400 for energy costs on their second homes as well as huge expenses and £93,762 salaries.
The winter fuel payment costs the government £2 billion a year. The big energy companies are raking in profits something like £1 billion a week, and hiking our bills with the government’s permission.
We need to renationalise the energy industry, taking the wealth and control out of the hands of the fat-cat bosses, so that investment can be planned democratically to meet need, not for profit, and so bills can be lowered. We need to fight for socialist change. If you want to be part of that fight, join the Socialist Party.
The Socialist Party says:
- Reverse the winter fuel payment cut
- Decent pensions for all
- Stop energy price hikes – nationalise the energy industry
- We need a new mass workers’ party that will make the super-rich pay and fight for socialist change
