A County Durham pensioner has expressed his regret in voting for Labour at this year’s general election as millions of pensioners are struggling to cope with the scrap of the Winter Fuel Payment.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to unveil even more unrest for Britain’s elderly in the Government’s upcoming Budget announcement on October 30, including a potential cut to tax-free pension withdrawals.
Speaking to GB News, pensioner Billy Pounder revealed he now relies on a single log burner to stay warm, moving it room to room in his house when needed.
Reflecting on his financial situation with Patrick Christys, Pounder admitted that the winter fuel cuts are “unfair” on those who have “worked all of their lives”.
Pensioner Billy Pounder expressed his regret in voting for Labour in this year’s general election
GB News / PA
Pounder explained: “I had a throat operation on my voicebox, then I had three stents in my heart last year, and I’ve still got issues on one of my valves in my heart, as well as arthritis everywhere.
“I bought a little fire with the extra £50 we got last year, and I move it from room to room so I don’t have to heat the whole bungalow.”
When asked by Patrick if he feels Labour’s move is “fair” on Britons, Pounder disagreed, explaining: “It doesn’t feel fair at all. They’re letting immigrants in and they have never put nothing into this country, and they get free housing, they don’t have to scrimp and scrape.
“I’ve worked all my life, and I’ve not got a lot in my savings, but I got a little rise at the beginning of the month on the pit pension, which I’ve had since I was 60. Within a week of getting that, I got a letter off Durham County Council saying my council tax had gone up because of it.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is predicted to cause further upset with the Budget announcement on October 30
GB News
“So they give me it in one hand, and take it out another hand.”
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Detailing Pounder’s double tax blow, Patrick explained that “because you worked for 10 years down the pit, you got that pit pension – now you’ve got a little bit of a bump on it, which has bumped you up a council tax band, and it means you aren’t getting the winter fuel payment”.
Agreeing with Patrick, Pounder added: “That’s right, and I didn’t even know I was getting the pit pension, let alone the rise in it.”
Revealing who he voted for in the general election, Pounder told GB News that after not voting for several years, he chose to vote for Labour this July, which he now regrets.
Pounder said: “I hadn’t voted for the last few years, because of the condition of my health. And I thought, well, I will vote Labour this year – and now I wish I hadn’t.
Billy Pounder told GB News of the struggle he now faces without the Winter Fuel Payment
GB News
“They’ve just took everything what the Conservatives did back off.”
Patrick has also set up a JustGiving fundraising page, to help raise money for Friends of the Elderly, which has raised over £250,000 so far.
To support the cause and make a donation, visit Patrick’s JustGiving page HERE.
