A WW2 veteran support group has slammed Rachel Reeves for ignoring outrage over 'ridiculous' winter fuel payment cuts - claiming war heroes will have to choose between 'eating and heating'.
Steven Shaw, co-founder of Project 71 - a South Coast-based group for veterans whose youngest member is a whopping 98 years old - said most of the money they raise as a charity will now have to go towards winter fuel payments.
The 62-year-old said that many of their veterans will now rely on donations to not 'freeze' this winter and feared for their safety given their 'lack of resilience' due to their age and most living alone.
Steven claims that instead of having a 'comfortable life' after risking the 'ultimate sacrifice' during the Second World War, the 'frail' elderly veterans have been left struggling to heat up their homes following Labour's announcement.
In September, the government won a vote on the plan to restrict the winter fuel payments to all but the poorest pensioners by 348 votes to 228.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced that from winter 2024, only those households in England and Wales receiving Pension Credit or other means-tested benefits are entitled to the Winter Fuel Payment.
Steven, from Portchester, Hampshire, said: "A lot of veterans live alone so you get that loneliness, vulnerability and boredom. They have a lack of resilience, because they're really old. That's the issue over the winter fuel payments.
"They need to heat their homes, they really do. Most of these people are at least 98 years old.
"These people are absolutely amazing in terms of their character and the fortitude to have lived this long.
"We just think it's ridiculous that the winter fuel payment is going to be removed from them.
"We're doing everything we can. We're a very small organisation, since the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
"Anything at all that's left over will be split amongst the veterans.
"They absolutely do need a comfortable life.
"It's the case of what you have, you have to spread very thinly. They're [choosing] between eating and doing other things that they need to do to keep their homes up as surviving veterans, and heating their property."
Steven, who is a director at his own events company, claims that the winter fuel payment process is 'terribly complicated', on top of applying for pension credits, leaving some not knowing 'where to start.'
He said that the veterans' surviving relatives are often around 70 to 80 years old themselves and so are often not physically or mentally able to help with the process.
Steven said: "The process starts to get really complicated. They have to apply for their pension credits and apply for this and that. Some of them don't know where to start. Some family members also don't know where to start.
"When veterans are 100 years old, their surviving relatives are 70 to 80, and might be less physically or mentally capable.
"It is terribly complicated, it's not like there's a red button you can press. We're doing our little bit to support them.
"We have gathered veterans from all three Services in Normandy. We try our best to keep them motivated, keep the morale up. Volunteers almost adopt a veteran so they keep close relationships, make calls, visit and when physically able, take them back to Normandy.
"They are physically getting too frail but we're still taking them out for lunches and things like that. They like to mix up with fellow veterans.
"It's a really special organisation. Any money we manage to raise we will contribute to the winter fuel payments for our veterans as much as we can.
"It will probably be a drop in the ocean but it's just something we feel very strongly about."
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