00:00...who matters, which is GB News viewer and pensioner Anita Atkinson from Durham.
00:05Anita, thank you for holding there whilst we debated amongst ourselves.
00:08Thank you for joining us this afternoon.
00:10What's your take on the winter fuel allowance policy?
00:12Have you been affected, first of all?
00:15Oh, yes, I've been affected. I'm a pensioner.
00:17Yes, I've been affected.
00:19And actually, I've never, ever in the whole of my life,
00:24and I've worked all my life, and I have brought up three children.
00:27I'm now a grandparent to five children.
00:30All of my children work.
00:32My husband works. I worked.
00:34And I've never been on benefits in my life.
00:37But I did hear one day how the pensions were classed as a benefit.
00:42I don't want the benefit, if that's what it is.
00:46I don't want your winter fuel allowance, if you're going to class that as a benefit.
00:50I've worked my way through life.
00:52All of my family have.
00:54And I'm still working now, actually.
00:56You're still working?
00:58And do you know what?
00:59I worked 22 years as a newspaper editor without a holiday, seven days a week.
01:07No holiday.
01:08I went away, but I was never off duty.
01:10I worked all that time.
01:12I'm better off, actually, as a pensioner.
01:14Yeah.
01:16Anita, they don't make them like you anymore, let me tell you, especially as a newspaper editor, which is no easy task.
01:21Local newspapers, what's the remit?
01:23Yeah, it was a local community newspaper that I worked for.
01:30On minimum wage, I think I maybe got paid 28 hours a week.
01:34I certainly worked between 60 and 80 hours a week.
01:37I wrote 60 to 80 newspaper stories every two weeks.
01:42And to class my pension as a benefit is an absolute disgrace.
01:47I paid tax all that time.
01:49I paid national insurance all that time.
01:51I've never had a benefit in my life.
01:54But do you know, Ben, countries, societies, they judged on how they treat their most vulnerable.
02:01Yep.
02:01So what does that say about our country?
02:03Finally, what would you like to say to Chris, to Chris Rowe here?
02:06He says pensioners are just a bunch of rich, entitled people who don't deserve any help.
02:10Which one?
02:11Well, I tell you what, Chris, I actually feel rich now because of the pension, because I get more pension than I do ever working for a wage.
02:18And I never once had one day's sick.
02:21I never had one day's holiday in all of that time.
02:24But do you know what?
02:25What you're talking about, the winter fuel allowance is given to families on low incomes.
02:31These are families that are working, Chris.
02:33They're working and they still can't afford to heat their homes in the winter.
02:37You're a disgrace.
02:39An absolute disgrace.
02:40Well, you know, I'll tell you what, Anita, when you've got two people working 60-hour weeks, struggling to afford nappies and you're getting taxed the way we are,
02:46you've got to talk about intergenerational fairness.
02:49We're not talking about the vulnerable.
02:51We're talking about the rich, five-bedroom-owning, wine-cellared, well-off, not getting the winter cruise allowance.
02:57And that is the main thing.
02:58What is this about the cruise?
02:58It's a small percentage.
03:00It's a protecting the vulnerable.
03:01You'll go and live with Anita for a week.
03:04Mine are not a new person.
03:05OK.
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