Somerset Council vote to call on Government to Review Winter Fuel Cuts Policy

With an overwhelming vote of 87-0 (and just 3 abstentions) Somerset Council voted on a cross party motion calling on the Government to ‘postpone cutting the Winter Fuel Allowance” and for an ‘impact assessment to be undertaken’. The motion also committed the Council to signing the ‘Save the Winter Fuel Payment for Struggling Pensioners’ petition being run by Age UK and to write to all members offering them the opportunity to sign the petition themselves. It further agreed to ‘encourage local efforts to promote Pension Credit uptake through council services and partnerships with local charities and community organisations to ensure that all eligible pensioners in Somerset are supported in claiming their entitlement’. The original motion was put by Tory group leader Cllr David Fothergill (Monkton & North Curry) who started by asking the council not to discuss the ‘alleged black hole’ in the Government’s coffers which was given as the reason the cuts were needed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and seconded by Independent Councillor John Hunt (Taunton) however, a considerably changed amendment was suggested by the Lib Dems which was accepted in full, and which, much to the Lib Dems surprise, the Chair ruled was still the original proposer and seconders motion. Which it clearly wasn’t.

Labour councillor Brian Smedley (Bridgwater South) who spoke at the meeting in support of the new motion after it had been amended by the Lib Dem group from the blatantly political original motion suggested by the Tories, said “It’s an interesting opening gambit by David Fothergill to ask us not to talk about the ‘black hole’ but we wouldn’t have supported his wording anyway. However we do support the new wording by the Lib Dems who I am sure know what it’s like to wake up with a ‘black hole’ in their treasury.”

Tory Blackhole

Cllr Smedley was referring to the chaos left in the County Council’s finances by the outgoing Tory administration in the wake of local government re-organisation which while promising a ‘unitary dividend’ had instead seen massive cuts to the workforce, considerable downsizing and near bankruptcy in the council they’d passed over to the Lib Dems. A similar thing had clearly happened at National level by the outgoing Conservative Government thus causing the new Labour government to make some hard choices. However, cutting winter fuel payments was not the way, and this was the view of almost all the councillors including the Labour members.

Cllr Mark Healey (Con Huntspill) tried to defend the original motion as ‘not being political’ whilst Cllr Diogo Rodrigues (Con Bridgwater East & Bawdrip) told the meeting he had met pensioners who had ‘pleaded with him for help’.

14 Years of Tory Government

Cllr Smedley continued “There is a black hole and its been caused by the last 14 years of Tory government. During the recent election there was a definite lack of anyone pleading for more of the Tories in the vain hope they’d help them, and this original motion was of course anything but non-political. It’s a clear attempt by the Tories to try to claim the implausible high moral ground. Sadly the two concepts of Tories and Morality don’t sit well together so we can see through that. In fact the Labour Party at our annual conference this week voted to call on the Government to stop the winter fuel cuts and seek other ways to fill that black hole, maybe with a wealth tax. Also UNITE the Union with its 1million members is leading this campaign and will be more believable than any crocodile tears the Tories might be pretending to shed. So that’s 360,000 Labour Party members, 1.1 million trades unionists and 12 million pensioners who are not happy, therefore it’s right that the Government think this through again and seek instead solutions that target the wealthy, who can afford it and not the poor, who clearly can’t.”

Unions urge ‘review’

Nigel Behan speaking for the Council’s own Trade Unionised workforce spoke at the meeting saying “Why should pensioners pay the price? The Government does not need to choose austerity. Energy company profits have more than trebled since before the pandemic and the 50 richest families in Britain own a combined £500 billion in wealth – the same as half the UK population. The wealth is there in our society, and the Government could choose to tax it.” The Council should be calling for a review of the decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment and asking the government to ensure that vulnerable pensioners, particularly those who do not claim Pension Credit, are protected from fuel poverty”