On the Sep. 10th, the House of Commons of the British Parliament rejected a motion opposing the reduction of winter heating subsidies with 348 votes to 228 votes, which means that about 10 million UK pension recipients will not receive heating subsidies this winter.
The data shows that cutting subsidies can only save about £ 1.5 billion in total, far from enough to make up for the £ 22 billion fiscal deficit previously warned by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves.
In his speech before the vote, British Prime Minister Keir Stammer stated that the government had to take unpopular measures to push for national change. UK Secretary for Employment and Pensions Liz Kendall subsequently stated that reforming winter heating subsidies is part of stabilizing and rebuilding the UK economy.
Previously, a public opinion survey commissioned by the Liberal Democratic Party in the UK showed that 55% of UK retirees were considering reducing heating this winter after subsidies were cancelled. Two thirds of the respondents stated that due to this change, they will have to take additional energy-saving measures.
Martin Powell, a professor of health and social policy at the University of Birmingham, told Xinhua News Agency that the government could have saved money in other areas and did not need to cut heating subsidies for the elderly population.
Steve Nolan, an economics lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, said that this policy was hastily introduced to fill the fiscal “black hole” and exposed its eagerness for quick success in fiscal policy.
