NOW that Parliament has voted to hold the third general election in less than five years parties will be publishing manifestos and canvassing.
Could I suggest that, if visited by Tory canvassers, people ask them what they plan to do about pensioners’ heating allowances and free TV licences for pensioners over 75?
In 2017, the Tory manifesto proposed the abolition of pensioner heating allowances, a threat which the DUP prevented them implementing.
Meanwhile pensioners are set to lose their free TV licences next June despite a 2017 Tory manifesto commitment to maintain them.
Boris Johnson claims to have provided the BBC with an adequate funding settlement to cover the cost of continuing free TV licences for pensioners over 75 and that ending them is the BBC’s choice. If this is so, why cannot the government remove the additional funding from BBC control and ensure that it is used as Parliament intended?
Otherwise, if the Tories are free to implement their 2017 proposals on heating allowances all pensioners stand to lose close on £4 a week from their incomes – with those over 75 losing an additional £3 if the free TV licences are withdrawn.
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