Merseyside MPs split over vote on winter fuel allowance
Merseyside’s MPs were split over the controversial move to cut winter fuel allowance for older people as the government held off a sizeable Labour abstention. Members of Parliament have backed proposals to remove the winter concession to all pensioners apart from the most vulnerable.
The hotly-debated issue had put the new Labour government under immediate pressure and had left the party’s representatives in our region split. Of the 16 MPs to cover the Liverpool City Region, only one - Ian Byrne - voted in favour of doing away with the cut.
West Derby MP Mr Byrne was one of a handful of MPs to lose the Labour whip in the first vote of the new Parliament when he defied government orders and voted to end the two-child benefit cap. He now sits as an independent.
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Of the Merseyside contingent four abstained - including Kim Johnson, Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, who posted on social media that she felt the move was “shocking” but was unable to attend the vote owing to a dental procedure. Paula Barker, Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree, said she wasn’t able to vote owing to a “longstanding prior engagement” in the city.
The remaining 11 members voted with the government to move forward with the cut. Number 10 held firm against pressure to soften the impact of the cut in the run-up to the Commons vote, saying on Tuesday morning that there were no plans to widen eligibility for the payment.
Ministers insist that the measure is necessary in order to fill a "£22 billion black hole" in the public finances which they say was left behind by their Tory predecessors. Sir Keir Starmer won the vote by a majority of 120 despite the abstentions and single Labour vote in favour of the opposition motion. The ending of allowance will lead to millions of pensioners losing the payment and only those claiming pension credit or other means-tested benefits continue to receive help with their energy bills this winter.
In a statement regarding her absence, Ms Johnson said: “Unfortunately, I am undergoing pre-arranged dental surgery this week, so I am unable to attend Parliament. This means that I will be unable to vote to participate in today’s crucial Winter Fuel Payment vote.
“I have been inundated with messages and correspondence from constituents on this issue and I share their concerns. I have consistently requested that the government reverses this shocking decision.”
Ms Johnson said had she been in parliament today she “could not have voted with the government in favour of an assault which puts people’s lives at serious risk.” She said missing the vote “pains me” and took her duty to be in Parliament “very seriously.”
Mrs Barker, who shared a letter to the Chancellor on social media ahead of the vote, said she felt the government should “halt this decision and look at the public health issues this could lead to.”
How our MPs voted in full
For the motion to block the cut: Ian Byrne
Against: David Baines, Patrick Hurley, Bill Esterson, Derek Twigg, Justin Madders, Dan Carden, Angela Eagle, Alison McGovern, Matt Patrick, Peter Dowd, Anneliese Midgley
Abstained: Paula Barker, Maria Eagle, Marie Rimmer, Kim Johnson