MP urged to back plans to reinstate Winter Fuel payment as 11,000 pensioners in Rossendale set to suffer

Cllr Smith said that 11,000 pensioners across Rossendale will see their benefits cut
-Credit: (Image: Scott Smith/LinkedIn)


A councillor has written to his local MP urging him to make a U-turn on plans to scrap the Winter Fuel payment with thousands across Rossendale set to suffer.

Scott Smith, who represents Whitworth on Rossendale Council and is leader of the opposition, has written to Rossendale and Darwen MP Andy McNae after it was revealed that pensioners with an income of just £13,000 "will go without this vital support".

In total, around 10 million pensioners in England and Wales will lose their winter fuel payments under plans announced by the chancellor Rachel Reeves in July.

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From this autumn, those not on pension credit or other means-tested benefits will no longer get the annual payments, worth between £100 and £300.

In his letter, Cllr Smith wrote: "I am writing to you to express residents' deep concern at the Government's plan to withdraw Winter Fuel Payments from pensioners in Rossendale.

"The previous Conservative Government rightly chose to spend many billions of pounds supporting families across our country with their energy bills, which rose dramatically as a result of Covid and Putin's illegal war in Ukraine.

"Winter Fuel Payments are vital in ensuring that pensioners are not forced to choose between heating and eating, and I am sure we agree that it was right that the Chancellor committed to retaining Winter Fuel Payments in full during the election campaign.

"That is why residents across the Valley will be so shocked by the Chancellor's u-turn. More than 11,000 pensioners across Rossendale are now set to have this vital lifeline taken away.

"The people from whom the Government is stripping Winter Fuel Payments are not rich. Indeed, pensioners with an income of just £13,000 will now go without this vital support.

"I understand a motion will be put before the House of Commons on Tuesday (10 September) which, if supported, would put an end to these plans which were not in the manifesto on which you stood to represent the residents of Rossendale and Darwen.

"I urge you to stand up for residents, to make sure our pensioners can afford to heat their homes this winter, and to support that motion."

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