Chancellor Rachel Reeves (Image: Getty)

       Rachel Reeveshas been urged to use her Budget to guarantee no other pensioner benefits will be scrapped for the rest of this Parliament.

       The Silver Voices campaign group for older people called on the Chancellor and Prime Minister to make a cast-iron pledge next Wednesday to protect perks like free bus passes and prescriptions until at least 2029.

       The organisation also wants the income tax threshold freeze to be lifted to ensure OAPs do not get dragged into having to pay 20% tax on their state pension in the future.

       The plea comes as the Government is facing an intense backlash over stripping most pensioners of winter fuel payments.

       Silver Voices director Dennis Reed said: "The Government has quickly lost the trust of older people. Within days of taking office, without consultation or warning, it took steps to remove the universal winter fuel payment from 10 million pensioners.

       "This political decision was characterised as symbolic targeting of a large group who could not easily fight back.

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       "[This was] in order to prove early strength in tackling the UK's financial problems. Fortunately, most of the public see it as cruel and crude bullying of a potentially vulnerable group.

       "The Government also showed its disdain for the older generations by reneging on its promise to resolve the social care crisis and ditching any early moves to reform the system.

       "Labour has also refused to contemplate measures to prevent most state pensioners from paying tax on their state pensions in future years.

       "The only way for the Government to regain trust from older people would be a commitment in the Budget g y that mitigating measures will be put in place to ease the damage caused by the scrapping of the universal winter fuel payment - particularly for the three million pensioners just above the pension credit eligibility level.

       "Furthermore, the Government has encouraged speculation other universal benefits - such as the free bus pass and prescriptions in England - are also under threat.

       "We call on the Prime Minister and Chancellor to make clear that all other pensioner benefits, and the universal state pension, are safe for the remainder of this Parliament."

       But Sir Keir Starmer suggested yesterday that he might be listening.

       Speaking to reporters on the way to the Commonwealth summit in Samoa, he said: "I'm not going to pre-empt that [a decision on free bus passes and prescriptions] but we do want to make sure that pensioners are properly protected, of course we do."

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       Silver Voices' petition calling on Ms Reeves to protect older people in the Budget is approaching 150,000 signatures ahead of a hand-in to 10 Downing Street with the Daily Express on Monday.

       It urges the Chancellor to restore winter fuel payments for pensioners not on the higher rate of income tax.

       The petition also demands universal benefits such as free bus passes and prescriptions remain in place for the next five years.

       It wants measures to ensure older people whose only income is the state pension do not end up receiving HMRC demands due to the ongoing income tax threshold freeze which the Chancellor may extend at the Budget.

       Under the triple lock, the new state pension is due to rise to ￡12,000 next April, but the tax-free personal allowance currently stands at ￡12,570.

       Ms Reeves is already facing fury from OAPs after announcing in July the winter fuel allowance would be restricted to those on pension credit.

       Payments of up to ￡300 a year were previously available to all older people regardless of income or benefits.

       Ms Reeves blamed a ￡22billion black hole in the public purse left by the Tories, which they have denied.

       The change means 10 million people will miss out to save the Treasury an estimated ￡1.4billion a year and comes as energy bills went up this month.

       Ms Reeves announced at the same time that the Government was abandoning plans for a cap on social care costs for older people.

       A Government spokesman said: "We are committed to supporting pensioners - with millions set to see their state pension rise by up to ￡1,700 [in April] through our commitment to the triple lock.

       "Over a million pensioners will still receive the winter fuel payment and our drive to boost pension credit takeup has already seen a 152% increase in claims.

       "Many others will also benefit from the ￡150 warm home discount, while our extension of the household support fund will help with the cost of food, heating and bills."

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       Silver Voices director Dennis Reed (Image: GETTY)

       Comment by Silver Voices director Dennis Reed

       The actions of the new Government in their first days in office broke a bond of trust with the older generations.

       Without any warning, and with no manifesto backing, Labour moved to scrap the winter fuel payment for 10 million pensioners.

       And despite multiple reports about the likely devastating consequences for at least three million pensioners just above the pension credit eligibility level, the Government appears determined to stick to its guns.

       The Government also broke its promise, from the General Election campaign, to introduce a cap on the lifetime costs of social care.

       Despite many promises over the years, Labour does not have any plan to reform social care apart from a vague commitment to a ‘national care service’ sometime in the next ten years.

       To move forward on reform of the NHS while ignoring social care, as Wes Streeting has announced he is doing, is destined for failure.

       It will be difficult for Labour to rebuild trust with the older generations because there is a widespread feeling amongst Silver Voices members that the Government has consciously targeted older people as a lower priority than so-called ‘working people’.

       This attitude gives the strong impression that once people retire from paid employment they are regarded as superfluous to society and therefore not worth investing in.

       If the Government wants to turn over a new page with older people, then the Budget Speech is the time to do it.

       The Chancellor must introduce supplementary measures to mitigate the worst effects of the winter fuel cuts.

       Silver Voices suggests that everyone below the higher rate of tax should continue to receive the payment.

       And the Chancellor must spike all the speculation that other universal benefits such as the free bus bass and free prescriptions in England are under threat, as well as the future of the state pension itself.

       The refusal to unfreeze the lower tax threshold is a very sneaky way to tax all state pensions in the future, and bring in an element of means-testing.

       We call on the Government to state clearly that no other universal pensioner benefits will be touched during this Parliament and that the universal state pension is safe in Labour’s hands.