Licence to kill off the Tories’ election hopes
Over-75s could topple key MPs if free TV is lost
A REVOLT by over-75s stripped of free TV licences could cost the Tories a general election victory.
Seats where they vastly outnumber the Tory majority include those held by Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd and former ministers Theresa Villiers and Stephen Crabb.
After a Mirror-backed campaign, the House of Commons today holds a debate aimed at saving the £154.50a-year lifeline for the elderly.
The Tories vowed at the 2017 election to keep it, but had stitched up a deal for the BBC to take over the £745million-a-year cost from June 2020.
Now the BBC must either axe the benefit, dilute it, or make huge cuts to afford it.
Options on the table include a 50% discount, raising the age to 77 or 80, or introducing a means-test. A decision is expected soon.
Now a Labour analysis shows the
Tories could pay a heavy electoral price for any such change. They hold a string of marginal seats where an OAP-led revolt could topple a sitting Tory.
As well as the three examples above, key seats include Southampton Itchen, and Pudsey, West Yorks.
Labour’s Tom Watson, writing for the Mirror below, will begin the debate with figures showing just how much the elderly rely on TV.
It shows the extent of their social
isolation, including the fact that only 13% do not feel lonely.
Today’s debate could force Tory MPs to choose between keeping a manifesto vow and losing key voters.
More than 18,000 Mirror readers backed our campaign and Jan Shortt of the National Pensioners Convention said: “Only the Conservative Party seems willing to attack some of our oldest and most vulnerable.
“I hope MPs will unite to force the Government to think again.”