'I use my fuel allowance to go out for dinner at The Ivy'

As the backlash grows over the decision to cut the benefit for some pensioners, Zoe Beaty heads to Harrogate in Yorkshire where she nears two very different takes on Labour’s policy

-  Zoe Beaty

The Yorkshire town of Harrogate is home to a large population of pensioners – 45,000 of them, to be more or less precise, accounting for 26.9 per cent of its inhabitants. So it seemed as good a location as any to find out what Britain’s senior generation thinks of the government’s plan to means-test the payments put in place to help older people keep warm.

But, as is ever the case with politics, views vary – even among those directly affected by the change.

‘I’ve got my heating allowance, let’s have another bottle of chablis’

Keith Elliot, 70, retired businessman and auction owner, Harrogate

“Honestly? I’ve been embarrassed every time I received my £300 winter fuel allowance (WFA). There are certainly pensioners who should be helped to heat their homes, but I’m not one of them. I’m very comfortable financially, I don’t need help to pay for my heating, and I know plenty of others who don’t need it either.

“Every time we used to get the money, we’d say, ‘Oh, well, let’s go to The Ivy for a meal, then.’ I’ve got loads of friends who did the same – ‘I’ve got my heating allowance, let’s have another bottle of chablis.’ The fact that the payment was given to people like me at all and not to those more in need is ridiculous.

“I do have a lot of sympathy for those who are just above the threshold. I feel incredibly sorry that this policy will affect them. But what’s the alternative to means-testing? It seems to be that we just throw billions at everybody else, including the millions of pensioners who are very, very comfortable – many of whom can probably afford a second home to heat.