The winter fuel cut is thin end of the wedge

THE Tory plan to go after the winter fuel allowance could lead to the end of free bus passes and TV licences for pensioners, Labour’s Debbie Abrahams warns.

The Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary believes the Tory manifesto revealed the “thin end of the wedge” of Theresa May’s plans to cut social care and pensions.

She said: “They could go after bus passes and TV licences as well. Any of the universal benefits given to pensioners are up for grabs.

“What we are seeing here is the thin end of the wedge.

“What they’re doing to older people is horrendous.”

Scrapping the pensions triple- lock would hit the elderly hard, she said.

“Since 2012, when it was brought in, that’s generated an average of £500 for people of state pension age, which they would lose.”

She said it was a deliberate Tory strategy to target the disabled and elderly, who were the “most vulnerable” and “easy targets” and argued a better deal for all pensioners is justified as they are less likely to claim means-tested benefits.