Further to my last post, it appears I was wrong. The Conservatives (or at least a senior figure in the party) have made a definite commitment. Unfortunately, it is a commitment that will hurt many thousands of poorer people.
David Davis, until recently a shadow cabinet member and a leading figure in the Party, has said that winter heating payments to older people are 'a gimmick' and should be abolished to save money. He also wants to abolish free TV licences for over 75s.
Writing for the Financial Times, Mr Davis said that the Government should cut excessive spending in order to save money in the recession. I couldn't agree more that the Government should be looking to spend wisely and cut waste. But the targets chosen by Mr Davis seem excessively harsh on a particular section of society.
Mr Davis says he wants to give some money back to the poorest pensioners, but there are many hundreds of thousands, particularly those who only have a small income in addition to the basic state pension, who will lose out massively.
I have yet to hear David Cameron or any other front bench Tory disown these comments. Are we to assume they are being taken seriously by the Conservative Party? Here in Cornwall, what will local Tory candidates be saying to pensioners whose votes they are soliciting? Will they be admitting that they could be cutting many hundreds of pounds from their income each year?
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