John Harris writes: “Today, amid deep dismay, the House of Commons approved the government’s ill-conceived and dangerous plan to withdraw the winter fuel allowance from most pensioners in England and Wales” (Starmer and Reeves are playing a dangerous game. How much more do they think Britain can take?, 10 September). He is right to highlight the lack of ambition for rapid change and the counsel of despair that characterises this Labour government, which is doing little to engage with “ambient austerity”.
We are all familiar by now with the government’s arguments for making savings – the “black hole” in public finances that must be filled, the inefficiency of universal benefits and the existence of a pension credit safety net for the poorest. But the optics of this are all wrong. Targeting pensioners to make relatively small savings appears inhumane and callous, and will cause widespread fear and anxiety, increase the risk of cardiorespiratory problems for those too scared to turn on the heating, and contribute to excess winter deaths.
There are alternatives to raise money other than this crude and blunt model; other ways of targeting wealthier households that wouldn’t penalise people who won’t, or can’t, claim means-tested benefits, or those who fall just the wrong side of the cliff edge of eligibility.
“Change” was the Labour manifesto election offer, but for the old and cold, the reality right now is the devastating prospect of continued austerity and, as Harris cautions, the risk is that “the future will not be about our national condition deteriorating before it improves, but something much, much worse”.
Melanie Henwood
Hartwell, Northamptonshire
• By stating that the winter fuel allowance will still be paid to the poorest pensioners in receipt of benefits, Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer are being disingenuous. I have a low pension income and rent a flat. My pension is topped up, not by pension credit (being just a few pounds over the eligibility limit), but by housing and council tax benefit. Despite being topped up to a similar amount to that of our neighbours on pension credit, we are not eligible for any extra help with energy bills – not even the £150 that those on pension credit receive from energy companies each year.
My home is an almshouse, is more than 100 years old and is damp and poorly insulated. It is very hard to heat and has an expensive and inefficient electric heating system – there is no gas available here.
Starmer says pensioners are protected by the triple lock. But any increase in our pension will merely be deducted from our housing benefit and council tax support, so it will make no meaningful difference to our situation.
Pauline Cartwright
Whiteley Village, Surrey
• The withdrawal of winter fuel payments reminds me of the cuts to disability benefits in December 1997. I was ushered through the lobbies with sweet words that the “New Jerusalem” Labour party wouldn’t hurt disabled people. I should not have believed Tony Blair, and Labour MPs should not now believe Keir Starmer that difficult choices means hitting some of the poorest in society. Labour MPs must stand up for the people who suffer the most in society, otherwise what’s the point of a Labour government?
Paul Marsden
Labour MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, 1997-2001 and 2005; Liberal Democrat MP, 2001-05
• Do you have a photograph you’d like to share with Guardian readers? If so, please click here to upload it. A selection will be published in our Readers’ best photographs galleries and in the print edition on Saturdays.
