The Yorkshire town of Harrogate is home to a large population of pensioners â 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 Britainâs senior generation thinks of the governmentâs 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 â even among those directly affected by the change.
âIâve got my heating allowance, letâs have another bottle of chablisâ
Keith Elliot, 70, retired businessman and auction owner, Harrogate
âHonestly? Iâve 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 Iâm not one of them. Iâm very comfortable financially, I donât need help to pay for my heating, and I know plenty of others who donât need it either.
âEvery time we used to get the money, weâd say, âOh, well, letâs go to The Ivy for a meal, then.â Iâve got loads of friends who did the same â âIâve got my heating allowance, letâs have another bottle of chablis.â The fact that the payment was given to people like me at all and not to those more in need is ridiculous.
âI 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 whatâs 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 â many of whom can probably afford a second home to heat.
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