'Use the Budget to win back our trust'

RACHEL Reeves has been urged to use her Budget to guarantee no other pensioner benefits will be scrapped for the rest of this Parliament.

- Katie Harris

The Silver Voices campaign group for older people called on the Chancellor and Prime Minister to make a cast-iron pledge on Wednesday to protect perks like free bus passes and prescriptions until at least 2029.

The organisation also wants the income tax threshold freeze to be lifted to ensure OAPs do not get dragged into having to pay 20% tax on their state pension in the future.

The plea comes as the Government is facing an intense backlash over stripping most pensioners of winter fuel payments.

Silver Voices director Dennis Reed said: "The Government has quickly lost the trust of older people. Within days of taking office, without consultation or warning, it took steps to remove the universal winter fuel payment from 10 million pensioners.

"This political decision was characterised as symbolic targeting of a large group who could not easily fight back.

Vulnerable

"[This was] in order to prove early strength in tackling the UK's financial problems. Fortunately, most of the public see it as cruel and crude bullying of a potentially vulnerable group.

"The Government also showed its disdain for the older generations by reneging on its promise to resolve the social care crisis and ditching any early moves to reform the system.

"Labour has also refused to contemplate measures to prevent most state pensioners from paying tax on their state pensions in future years.