Winter fuel payment protest as campaigners warn of impact

The Scottish Government said it had “no choice” but to follow suit as treasury funding for the Scottish benefit had been cut by between £140m and £160m.

Unite will try to force a vote on reversing the cuts at Labour’s conference in Liverpool, as it urges the government against “turning back to failed austerity”.

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On Friday a group from the trade union took part in a protest against the cuts on Irvine beach in North Ayrshire.

Artists Veronika Liebscher and Richard Leat created a piece of art on the sand with the words “winter fuel allowance £200”.

As crowds gathered and representatives made speeches, the words were slowly washed away by the incoming tide.

Alongside Unite members were members of Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI), the group seeking compensation for millions of women who lost opportunities to make informed decisions about their finances when the pension age for women rose from 60 to 65.

The group says its members have already been negatively impacted by that change, and now face losing their winter fuel allowance on top as they urged Mr Starmer to pay compensation and not to take it from the winter fuel budget.

Members of WASPI on Irvine beach (Image: Newsquest)

Explaining the art work, Ms Liebscher said: “We’ve got this fabulous beach here, so why not use it?

“The tide is an excellent analogy for something that is rushing in against us and is difficult to stop.

“The winter fuel allowance is important in giving people a top-up that they need, taking it away in the manner they are means there will be a lot of people who are on that edge and still need it.

“The right thing to do is not necessarily to reinstate the allowance for everybody but something has to be done when there are so many people who can ‘t pay for their fuel.

“Whether that’s doing it at one end, giving people money to pay for their fuel, or at the other end with restricting prices – something needs to be done.”

Trade unionists protest against the winter fuel payment cut on Irvine beach, North Ayrshire (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Leat said: “You’ve got to think about the number of people who don’t take up benefits to which they’re entitled, and if they then start taking those up then any savings are going to be reduced tremendously – probably to nothing.”

Arthur West, Unite community member and secretary of the Irvine and North Ayrshire Trade Union Council said: “This is going to present real problems in many pensioner households.

“It goes without saying that in Scotland , unfortunately, we do have colder weather it gets a bit bracing at times so it’ll have a real impact.

“Many people will be struggling to pay their energy bills and that will be a worry and a pressure, and there’s the cost-of-living pressure overall – there’s a real worry about what this winter will bring.”