Winter fuel protest to take place in Hull

Protestors will meet in Hull this weekend to protest against the Government's cut to the winter fuel allowance.

A demonstration, organised by Unite the Union, will take place in Hull on Saturday, November 30 in opposition to the government's cuts to winter fuel payments. The union is also planning demonstrations in various other towns and cities across the country for activists and retired people to make their voices heard in opposition to the cut in the winter fuel payment.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "The campaign opposing the pickpocketing of pensioners is now coming to a town near you. The Government needs to rapidly rethink this tin-eared cut. It is simply wrong that winter fuel payments have been slashed while the mega wealthy remain untouched."

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Leader of Hull City Council, and strong critic of the cut, Cllr Mike Ross said: "I welcome the opposition to the heartless cut from the ever growing list of voices opposing this decision."

The Liberal Democrat added: "That this protest is being organised by a group that would traditionally be allies of a Labour Government underlines just how out of touch this Government is."

The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves has continuously backed her decision to means test the winter fuel allowance. At the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool in September she said: "Faced with that £22 billion blackhole that the Conservatives left this year, and this the triple lock ensuring that the state pension will rise by an estimated £1,700 over the course of this Parliament, I judged it the right decision in the circumstances that we inherited."

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