For 73-year-old Philip Mulholland, heating his home over the winter is essential.
The pensioner suffers from a debilitating form of Raynaud’s syndrome – a condition that causes reduced blood flow to his hands and feet and is usually triggered by cold temperatures.
Mr Mulholland, who also suffers from the related condition systemic scleroderma, says even an overcast day at 13°C will “cripple” him and he will be in “severe pain” if he doesn’t keep his house heated to between 21° to 22°C.
But he’s now among the nearly 10 million pensioners who could lose their winter fuel payments from the government this year.
Some 11.6 million pensioners received winter fuel payments in 2023, according to the latest statistics, meaning nearly 9.4 million could lose out on the allowance under current plans to restrict the payment.
The winter fuel allowance is an annual tax-free payment worth up to £300 designed to help pensioners cover their heating bills.
Under Labour’s plans, the payment will only be available for the 2.2 million lower-income pensioners who qualify for pension credit or other means-tested benefits.
This is despite winter fuel recipients increasing by 214,000 compared to the previous year, according to data released on Tuesday by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Mr Mulholland says he is just over the threshold for getting pension credit, as he receives about £13,500 a year through his pension. This is from the state pension and a small private pension.
That means he won’t qualify for the fuel payments.
He is now spending about £90 a month on his energy bills and lives on his own.
Mr Mulholland now fears he will have to get into debt to heat his home and says scrapping the Government help for people like him is the “worst thing that any sane person could ever do”.
“You’re trying to keep yourself fit and the Government take away from you an important tool of keeping you fit by saying we’re not going to help you keep yourself warm,” he told i.
Mr Mulholland started getting his health problems in his later years and was diagnosed with Raynaud’s and systemic scleroderma about two years ago.
He says that when his hands and feet get cold, “they don’t function”.
On his worst days, he struggles to cook, pick anything up or handle money.
Basic daily tasks become a problem and just going about his day can become painful.
“People don’t understand until they suffer from something like this how quickly you can change and how the simplest things that most people can overcome become a burden,” he said.
His scleroderma also causes hardening of the skin, connective tissue and internal organs from the overproduction of collagen. He therefore suffers from a lot of stiffness and arthritic pain, as well as acid reflux and lung infections.
Last winter he was rushed to A&E several times with suspected heart attacks, but it was found to be chest pains brought on by his condition.
For Mr Mulholland, he says he has “no option but to keep warm”.
The charity SRUK says 62 per cent of Raynaud’s sufferers have experienced an attack of the condition after choosing not to put their heating on because of the cost.
Some 22 per cent of people surveyed said they were choosing not to turn on their heating, even if the cold triggered a Raynaud’s attack.
Mr Mulholland says losing the winter fuel payments feels like “another obstacle” he has to deal with.
“I feel as though I’ve been fighting Mike Tyson, Henry Cooper and some other heavyweight on my own and nobody’s got an answer,” he said.
He accused the government of being “out of touch” and said scrapping the payments appeared to be a “knee-jerk reaction”.
“To me it’s a stupid reaction – it’s a reaction of somebody panicking rather than thinking about what they’re doing,” he said.
Mr Mulholland doesn’t believe the payments should necessarily be kept for all pensioners, but he thinks the Government should have taken more time to look at the issue properly and ensure everyone who needs the extra cash will still get it.
He also suggests that the Government could promise to insulate homes better to help pensioners losing their fuel payments.
“If somebody tries to explain to somebody else how their life is without them actually living it, it’s very difficult,” he said.
“If I was to turn around to a politician and say right, I’m going to strap two posts to your legs and I’m going to make you walk around with ice cubes in your hands and feet, and then go and function for a day doing your job, you might have an idea of what I have to do just to get by every day.”
