Labour’s ‘shameful’ winter fuel cuts anger some pensioners amid rising energy bills in Copley village

“It’s a bit fresh, isn’t it?” says Ken Cook, a retired headteacher, as an icy wind blasts down into the valley.

It might be lunchtime on a sunny day, but one of the many thermometers in Cook’s front lawn reads -9C – not unsurprising since he lives in the village of Copley, near Bishop Auckland in County Durham, which is known as the snowiest place in England, receiving an average of 53 snow days a year.