It is downright unconscionable - in fact, nauseating - and nothing less than wicked that this so-called "Labour" Government has axed the winter fuel payment for pensioners.

We have a lot of pensioners in our area - most of whom live very frugally indeed.

I have been a 'Labour person' in the past. No longer. Indeed I have campaigned for them! 'Pounded the streets', as they say, for weeks. Talking to just about everyone on-the-doorsteps whilst others, I noticed, did not want to do that.

I was met with nothing but courtesy and respect and folk very willing to discuss their concerns and receive clarification regarding Labour's 'offer' to the people of this country.

However, I simply do not recognise this current  Labour front bench as 'Labour' at all. Just eight weeks into their appalling administration there are folk assembling outside the House of Commons demanding "Get Starmer out...!" and astonishingly: "Starmer is a traitor."

Our regional West Scotland Labour MSP, now in the Scottish Parliament, Katy Clark - who was our MP at Westminster for 10 years - is very surprised and very concerned regarding this unexpected announcement. Not in their manifesto, of course. In fact, I am reliably informed that they actually said they "had no plans to remove the winter fuel allowance".

Our SNP constituency MSP, Kenneth Gibson, is also raising his concerns and Douglas Ross, the current leader of the Scottish Conservatives, has kindly responded to me stating: "The Scottish Conservatives will be taking this up in the Scottish Parliament."

Unbelievably, our newly-returned Labour MP at Westminster, Irene Campbell, has defended the indefensible.

Of course, on her £92,000 a year salary as an MP and her £3,000 a year heating allowance, perhaps Rachel Reeves should axe that. She has no worries about not being able to have heat on in the winter.

I would suggest, Ms Reeves, that someone who infers that "Ten million pensioners are wealthy", should not be in the role of chancellor. She knows nothing whatsoever.

I thought that Rishi Sunak expressed the views of UK pensioners very well at PMQs on Wednesday, asking the question that absolutely everybody is asking: "Why has a Labour government chosen to increase salaries of the top one per cent of earners (by £10,000 a year as well) and remove the £200 (£300 for those over 80) annual winter fuel allowance from pensioners?"

I can come to no other conclusion than it is a strategy to kill us all off.

Because this will cost lives; too many lives have been lost to the cold already.

And why has Ed Miliband been given billions of pounds of taxpayers' money to give to other countries to support their climate change responsibilities? Neither was that in the Labour manifesto.

The UK state pension is still one of the lowest in the world and much less than most countries in Europe.

So, nothing has changed. Labour self-evidently does not like older folk who have worked hard all their lives and paid their taxes, National Insurance, etc.

I would say "at least keep it for the over 80s", who are often housebound and reliant upon  zimmer frames to get about their homes, and cannot move about all day to keep warm or even go and sit in the local library for a while.

Not that anyone should have to do that in 21st century Britain. Cold is bad for the bones and the chest and the heart. It is going to cause a lot more falls requiring hospital admission, surgery and home care when they eventually get home. A lot more chest infections, respiratory stuff, heart failure, strokes and deaths.

But - most pensioners need this payment.

Remember no-one gets the state pension until 66 now. It is not 60 these days due to the rise to 67, for both men and women in 2026.

Would anybody be voting for Labour at the moment? I think not.

Linda Grainey (resident),

Religious and moral education adviser 1987-2007 (retired).