The forgotten victims of winter
Fraser Nelson 12:35pm
This winter, at least 15,000 British pensioners over the age of 75 will die from the cold. Their death is a normal, recurring fact of British life – since 1991 the figures have oscillated between 17,000 and 37,600. For reasons passing my understanding, it attracts minimal media attention and zero political outrage even though much of this is avoidable (the excess winter mortality rates in Norway for the elderly are about half ours).
As I say in my News of the World column today, it issues like the lives of foxes that whip our MPs into a frenzy. There’s something deeply unfashionable about the welfare of the pensioners (who usually make up the lion’s share of our MSRA statistics as well). Last winter, excess mortality amongst all over-65s was 22,300. This winter will be colder, so the toll will be even greater. And the policy weapon designed to help them – the winter fuel allowance - seems linked not to the price of winter fuel but to the electoral cycle.
There’s a great piece in The Sunday Telegraph today about the homeless at winter. But it’s the ones inside, afraid to turn up the heating, who are most likely to be casualties of the cold.
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David Allen
December 23rd, 2007 10:07pm Report this commentThere's this little thing called Warm Front that the Labour Government has introduced to help pensioners. I like to mention it on the doorstep when campaigning. It's something that MPs have talked about, just that it doesn't sell many papers, unlike you lot going on about fox hunting.
Jack Bloxam
December 23rd, 2007 10:22pm Report this commentFoxes, eh? Never trust a party that sees the lives of foxes as more valuable than those of unborn children.
David Williams
December 24th, 2007 9:00am Report this commentAre you advocating yet another intrusion into the private lives of individuals? Most of us pensioners are as warm as we want to be and some of us choose to wrap up warm and keep our homes cool. If we wanted more heat, most of us could afford it, thanks largely to the winter fuel allowance.
Stan, UK
December 24th, 2007 6:15pm Report this commentCredit it to you Mr Nelson, at least someone in the media is raising this issue. Its like there is a blackout on news if it involves pensioners, a disgrace.
Daniel24
December 24th, 2007 6:22pm Report this commentIn reply to David Allen: warm front is a good scheme and very welcome in providing new boliers, insulation etc but if pensioners cant afford to have the heating on what use is it then? The moment Gordon Brown gave a 75p per week raise in pension in his first budget he showed his contempt for pensioners and its been downhill ever since.
Lisa, Huddersfield
December 24th, 2007 6:31pm Report this commentNot only are a lot of our pensioners in pension poverty because of Brown's obsession with meanstesting but are also victims of fuel poverty as well resulting in the truly shocking death stats given in the article. It is disgusting how Brown plays politics like the example you mentioned of him announcing the winter fuel allowance just in time for the election, he only does whats best for Labour we know that by now.
KATIE MERCER
December 24th, 2007 6:44pm Report this commentI am not trying to equate pensioners and foxes, and there should be more done to improve the welfare of the poorest pensioners in our society, but banning the absolute cruelty that is fox hunting was an important issue and Labour were right to do this.
Ruby Mills
December 24th, 2007 6:52pm Report this commentDavid Allen if your beloved Labour government's warm front campaign is such a success how do you explain more British pensioners die of the cold here than as Fraser says in Norway where it is much colder than in Britain?????
Purple Scorpion
December 24th, 2007 7:45pm Report this commentThe first two links need tweaking - they don't work.
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