The British government has announced it is cutting fuel support allowances for elderly people in an effort to try to balance the country's teetering economy.
Labour Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, says the move that could see pensioners lose up to £1,000 pounds a year in key financial aid is necessary due to what he described as mismanagement of the previous government, ignoring a £22 billion shortfall in the economy.
For the British public, the government should be prioritizing their own citizens' wellbeing, regardless of the economic and political context.
Pensioner poverty is really, really bad in this country, independently, what you think and what I thought when you hear, like, the human stories, like, I don't care how bad the economy is, you need to look after the people, especially when not taxing, you know, offshore crown estates.
Member of Public 01
A little bit unfair on them, especially as they have stopped working don't have a job, they are by themselves all the time, at home, bored all the time, just, just unfair on them, really.
Member of Public 02
But as politicians in the Houses of Parliament voted to cut vital support for the elderly, the government, at the very same time, approved yet another payment of 600 million pounds to Ukraine to support its war effort against Russia, leading many to doubt its claims of trying to balance the books.
For the political opposition in the UK, it's not an economic question, but a matter of priorities that, yet again, shows the government prioritizes war, killing and provoking Russia, over looking after its own struggling citizens.
This would be monstrous in itself. He saves £1.1 billion, but the very next day the British Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, went to Kiev and handed over another £600 million of our money, half the saving of the winter fuel allowance.
And if that's not an indication of two tier governance, I really don't know what it is.
George Galloway, MP
The latest government pledge sees the UK's total pledged support for Ukraine rise to over £13 billion; a staggering amount for a country that itself is struggling with a flatlining economy.
As the Western nations consider a move to allow Ukraine to launch missile strikes directly into Russian territory, it appears that they're committed to provoking Russia and escalating this war towards an outcome that nobody can predict.