A LABOUR minister was left squirming when questioned about the scrapping of the Winter Fuel Payment by Martin Lewis.
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, the host and consumer expert was visibly incensed as he grilled culture minister Lisa Nandy on the issue.
It comes after charity Age UK found that four in every five pensioners living below or just above the poverty line will lose the winter fuel payment under planned benefit cuts.
“We have to accept - you have to accept - there will be hundreds of thousands of the poorest pensioners under the £11,400 income you will not reach this year,” Lewis said passionately.
“You are taking money out of their hands. Do you accept the truth, the reality is that's what will practically happen. I'm saying it, Age UK are saying it, others are saying it.
"So let's be honest, you're willing to accept the collateral damage of hundreds of thousands of the poorest pensioners, many on dementia, not getting the winter fuel payment."
Nandy, visibly taken aback, responded that she was “not willing to accept that” (exchange below).
The FULL Winter Fuel Payment interview with Lisa Nandy. Sorry if my frustration about the risk to the 780,000 poorest pensioners missing spilled over with slightly bad language. Courtesy of @GMB pic.twitter.com/1e0OADs1BH
— Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) October 9, 2024
“It's one of the reasons why we've extended the cut-off point to apply until April next year so that even if people don't realise right now despite this sort of conversation happening on national media, even if they don't see this, if they don't receive letters, if we don't manage to catch them door to door, up to Christmas, and they find out later they are eligible, they can still apply, and they can get it backdated,” she said.
"The reason we have done that and made this announcement early is to make sure that people know that even if they don't apply immediately they don't have to worry about putting the heating on this winter.”
Nandy added: “We are working in every creative way possible to make sure this is done. We have inherited a situation where for 14 years there has been no drive to get the poorest people onto pension credit and get them the money they are entitled to but we are absolutely determined to solve it.
"I don't accept your characterisation that we're indifferent to this, I couldn't care more about this, neither could the Chancellor, and we're doing everything we can with the Work and Pensions Secretary to deal with the fact that we have inherited this enormous black hole and this enormous economic inheritance."
