JEFF PRESTRIDGE: The winter fuel crisis was so bad… and this battle isn’t over yet

Although it has been 13 long days (and nights) since Chancellor Rachel Reeves picked the pockets of pensioners to fund inflation-busting pay rises for public sector workers, the anger over her ill-advised move has not abated. It rages like Mount Etna erupting.

Over the past week, hundreds of readers have contacted me to say they are spitting blood at her decision to immediately end the universal entitlement for pensioners to a tax-free annual winter fuel payment of up to £300 (£200 for most).

And the emails keep pouring into my inbox (thanks, keep sending them).

Now that Reeves has moved across the Atlantic for a few days to promote the UK to potential international investors, I’m not sure she realises she has stirred up a hornet’s nest with her actions.

Without being melodramatic (Me? Never), readers are furious. Some even want to take to the streets and march on Downing Street to emphasise (peacefully, of course) their hostility to the rash and nasty profit-seeking.

And when that happens, I will stand by their side.

In summary, readers believe that the cap on winter fuel payments for those receiving pension credit was introduced too quickly – and that it does not give many pensioners in financial difficulty enough time to adjust their household budgets to absorb the hit to their income.

As charity Age UK warns, up to two million older people will struggle to stay warm this winter because of Reeves’ heartless move. These are pensioners, Age UK says, who are struggling financially but who either don’t qualify for pension credit or haven’t applied for it.

They struggle financially, day after day. Why haven’t 880,000 eligible pensioners applied for pension credit, you might ask? There are several reasons: they don’t know how to do it, they’re not internet savvy, or they stoically refuse to be a burden to the state.

Many readers now fear for their financial future. They believe that this smash and grab by Reeves marks the beginning of a financial assault on pensioners, while the Chancellor watches her masters (the unions) and appeases the public sector. They are right to worry.

As well as ending winter fuel payments for millions, Reeves has announced that the £86,000 social care cap that was due to be introduced at the end of next year will be scrapped. This could mean pensioners have to sell their homes to fund long-term care costs.

The Budget, due at the end of October, will also be painful for the elderly. Reeves has backed herself into a corner by promising not to raise income tax, VAT or National Insurance contributions, so she is likely to introduce a more draconian inheritance tax regime.

This limits the ability of grandparents to leave their assets to their loved ones without resulting in a significant tax reduction for their estate.

In defence of the Finance Minister, she indicated last week that she has no plans to force pensioners to pay National Insurance contributions on the income they generate from their work (thankfully).

But now that she has done the ‘dirty job’ of the winter fuel payment, she may also want to cut back on other pension benefits (such as free medicines, eye tests and bus passes).

Late last week, Baroness Altmann, a staunch campaigner for the elderly, urged Reeves to suspend her changes to the winter allowance pending a thorough investigation into their impact on the most deprived pensioner households.

Altmann says it not only saves many pensioners from a potentially cold winter by reducing their heating consumption, but also gives the Chancellor the chance to come up with fairer changes.

For example, removing the fuel payment for pensioners who pay a higher or additional rate of tax, a move I am sure many ‘wealthier’ pensioners would not object to. Reeves should at least consider what Altmann has to say.

Many readers have called on this newspaper to start a petition against Reeves’ brutal attack on the winter fuel surcharge.

It’s a good decision and we’ve thought long and hard about it, but we believe you should support the online petition that Age UK has already started.

This leads the Minister of Finance to reverse her decision to subject the payment to a means test.

Nearly 350,000 people have signed the petition. If you haven’t already, go to ageuk.org.uk. You can request a paper copy by emailing campaigns@ageuk.org.uk or writing to Freepost Age UK Campaigns (no expensive stamp required). I have added my signature to the campaign.

My view is simple. Injustice must be righted – and this cruel curtailment of a key pension benefit is a political blunder of monumental proportions.