A FURIOUS row has erupted after it emerged seven in ten disabled pensioners will lose winter fuel payments.
Around 1.6 million will be stripped of their cold weather cash alongside 2.7 million over-80s and 7.3 million aged between 66 and 79.
A furious row has erupted after it emerged seven in ten disabled pensioners will lose winter fuel payments[/caption]
John McDonnell tweeted: ‘The hardest hit will yet again be disabled people and the most elderly’[/caption]
Meanwhile, an estimated 780,000 pensioners still eligible will miss out when Labour starts means-testing the benefit.
Shock data was slipped out by ministers late on Friday evening in a Freedom of Information response by the Department for Work and Pensions.
One Labour MP said: “To smuggle these stats out on a Friday night just speaks to the fact this has been one big mistake.”
Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell tweeted: “The hardest hit will yet again be disabled people and the most elderly.
“In other words, the most vulnerable in our society. How can this be morally right?”
In 2017, Labour claimed means-testing the allowance could lead to some 4,000 deaths.
Laura Trott, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said the latest analysis was “hidden until after Labour forced their MPs to vote through this cut”.
A Government spokesman said: “Over a million pensioners will receive the winter fuel payment and those on the full new state pension will receive an extra £400 — twice the average winter fuel payment.”
