Winter fuel payment: Protest staged at Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Leeds office over 'catastrophic' cut

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Campaigners staged a protest outside the Chancellor’s office in Leeds over fears that the decision to withdraw the winter fuel payment could plunge pensioners into poverty.

Activists armed with placards gathered outside Rachel Reeves MP’s constituency base at Bramley Shopping Centre on Tuesday (October 15), insisting that cuts could mean the difference between heating and eating for vulnerable people.

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It is not the only planned protest, with groups expected to carry a coffin through Pudsey tomorrow, because they said they are expecting an increase in winter deaths as a result of higher energy prices.

Campaigners staged a protest outside the Chancellor's office in Leeds over fears that the decision to withdraw the winter fuel payment could plunge pensioners into poverty.Campaigners staged a protest outside the Chancellor's office in Leeds over fears that the decision to withdraw the winter fuel payment could plunge pensioners into poverty.
Campaigners staged a protest outside the Chancellor's office in Leeds over fears that the decision to withdraw the winter fuel payment could plunge pensioners into poverty. | Ernesto Rogata/Submitted

The Labour government has previously said the cuts are necessary to address what it has described as a financial “black hole” inherited from the Conservatives.

At last week’s protest, campaigners from Unite Community, which is part of Unite the Union, asked Mrs Reeves' constituents for thoughts about the withdrawal of the winter fuel allowance.

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Protestors also described how, along with the recent Ofgem price cap increase, the cut would “make life desperate for many campaigners”, predicting that energy costs would rise for pensioners and vulnerable groups by near to 15 per cent.

The Labour government has previously said the cuts are necessary to address what it has described as a financial “black hole” inherited from the Conservatives.The Labour government has previously said the cuts are necessary to address what it has described as a financial “black hole” inherited from the Conservatives.
The Labour government has previously said the cuts are necessary to address what it has described as a financial “black hole” inherited from the Conservatives. | Submitted

Judy White, an activist with the group, said: “The tragedy in this country, the fifth richest in the world, is that people are having to choose between eating and heating.

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“The cut to the winter fuel allowance is appalling and the consequences will be catastrophic. We believe that with decisive government action all deaths from cold homes, and fuel poverty can be avoided.”

Tomorrow’s protest will form part of the ‘Unite4Energy for All’ campaign, which launched last year to urge the government to end fuel poverty through the introduction of a free allowance of energy to every household.

It is also calling for the public ownership of energy distribution networks, domestic power suppliers and the North Sea’s reserves of oil and gas.

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Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Callous utility corporations are blighting the lives of millions. Every household must be guaranteed enough energy to cover essential needs. No one should be forced to choose between heating or eating.

“Last year alone, private firms reported profits of £45 billion from our country’s domestic energy system. If that money had been kept in the hands of the hardworking public, it could have been used to save each household almost £2,000 on their energy bills.”

Mrs Reeves was asked to comment.

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