A month later, the chancellor made the shock announcement that 10 million pensioners would lose their winter fuel allowance, removing the benefit for all but those who qualify for Pension Credit.

The decision has been made without the Government producing an impact assessment.

Charities later warned it would leave the poorest pensioners “facing potential disaster”.

An impact assessment by the charity Age UK found that four out of five pensioners already on the poverty line would miss out on payments, despite Labor’s claim that pensioners on low incomes would be protected.

Last winter, more than two million people visited a warm welcome space. More than half said that if they didn’t have access to the space they would be at home with the heating off.

David Barclay, director of the campaign, said: “We have seen an increase in premises registering with us.

“We launched at the beginning of August and we had just under 4,000 seats registered with us then and we have just under 4,500 seats registered with us so far.

“There is a definite increase in people wanting to get involved.”

He added that he had “mixed emotions” about using the warm benches and emphasized the important role they play in alleviating loneliness.

He said: “What does a good society look like? It seems that community spaces like libraries and churches are very well used and bring others together.

“But what it doesn’t show is that people are forced to use those places because they would otherwise be at risk of freezing in their homes. We need to keep that sense of hope and anger at the state of poverty in this country.”

A Government spokesman said: “We are committed to supporting pensioners – with millions set to see their state pension rise by up to £1,900 this Parliament through our commitment to the triple lock.

“More than a million pensioners will still receive the winter fuel payment and our efforts to boost the take-up of pension credits have already seen a 152% increase in claims. Many others will also benefit from a £150 home discount to help with their energy bills over the winter, while our extension to the Household Support Fund will help with the cost of food, heating and bills. “