THE Lib Dems have accused the government of hitting almost 19,000 local pensioners with a £1,000 “stealth tax.”

The party said the government’s recent decision to freeze income tax thresholds would mean 18,742 pensioners in the Taunton and Wellington constituency who pay income tax would be hit by a bigger bill by the taxman.

Gideon Amos, Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate for Taunton and Wellington, said: “Pensioners here, who have worked hard and paid taxes all their lives, are now being punished by the Conservative government with a £1,000 additional tax, on top of government social care cuts which are forcing up council taxes across the country.

“Many elderly people are already struggling to make ends meet as heating bills and the cost of the weekly shop go through the roof. Now this Conservative tax grab will only pile on the misery.

“Liberal Democrats are proud of our record of introducing the triple lock to protect people’s pensions - and of the original Liberal government’s invention of a state pension. 

“We will stand up for the pensioners in our community who have now been cruelly abandoned by the Conservatives, including by calling on the Government to double the Winter Fuel Allowance.”