Britain’s biggest pensioner organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) has said older people will be “absolutely outraged” by the announcement that the Conservatives are planning to keep the winter fuel allowance in Scotland, but means-test it in the rest of the UK.
 
Jan Shortt, NPC general secretary said: “You couldn’t make this up. Pensioners will be absolutely outraged that the Conservatives are going to introduce such a blatant postcode lottery for the winter fuel allowance if they win the election.
 
“Pensioners across the UK are struggling with rising fuel bills, badly insulated homes and having to make choices about whether to heat their homes or have something to eat. This applies just as much in England, Wales and Northern Ireland as it does in Scotland.
 
“So much for the Conservative claim that they are the party of the union. Not only is this policy completely unfair anyway, it now looks as if it was drawn up on the back of a fag packet.”
 
The policy was announced in the Conservative manifesto for the 2017 General Election, which was released last Friday (the 19th of May). The policy was met with widespread condemnation, with Tim Farron accusing the Conservatives of being ‘utter hypocrites’, and John McDonnell describing the manifesto as a ‘savage attack on vulnerable pensioners’. 
 
The policy was accompanied by the confirmation of rumours that the Conservatives were planning to end the triple lock on pensions that ensure state pensions will rise adequately over the coming years – a policy the NPC described as a ‘disaster for future generations’. 
 
Last year, there were 23,300 cold related deaths among older people between December 2015 and March 2016.