How each North East MP voted in Winter Fuel payment motion

The winter fuel cut will go ahead after a failed attempt to block it in the House of Commons on Tuesday. It means that the handout of up to £300 will become means-tested, and restricted to those on Pension Credit or other benefits.

The controversial plans to remove the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners are set to go ahead following MPs rejecting plans to halt the cut. Across the whole of the UK, only one Labour MP voted in favour of the Tory motion to scrap the cut - John Trickett of Normanton and Hemsworth, who said he could not "in good conscience" support the Government.

However, a number of MPs who were formerly under the Labour whip did vote with the Conservatives and a total of 53 Labour MPs did not vote on the motion today. Our gadget below allows you to see how your MP voted. It shows if an MP voted for the Tory amendment which aimed to stop the cut or supported Sir Keir Starmer by voting against the proposal.

Six MPs in the area covered by ChronicleLive abstained on the vote: Mary Foy, Sharon Hodgson, Ian Lavery, Emma Lewell-Buck, Grahame Morris and Kate Osborne. A further 15 MPs from our area, all of which represent the Labour Party, voted against the Tory motion to scrap the cut.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Emma Lewell-Buck, Labour MP for South Shields said she was deeply dismayed to vote for or against legislation to means test those who are struggling. Her statement read: "To vote against is to say I want the wealthiest to continue to receive public funds, to vote for is to say I want my constituents to struggle.

"That's why I abstained on today's voted. Neither outcome is something I could vote for, and I have proposed alternatives to the Chancellor."

Ian Lavery, MP for Blyth and Ashington, also refused to back the winter fuel payment plans. In a statement, he wrote: "When the measure was first announced I instinctively opposed it.

"In 14 years I have never voted to make my constituents poorer. I have listened to all of the arguments. I cannot and will not vote to take away this vital support. I have already written to the Chancellor urging a change of course on this policy."

However, Mark Ferguson, MP for Gateshead and Central Whickham, voted in favour of the Winter Fuel Allowance to be means tested. Describing it as a decision he did not take lightly, he said that the new Labour Government "urgently need to fix the foundations of the economy", and said the previous Conservative government were guilty of "gross mismanagement".

He encouraged pensioners to double check their eligibility for Pension Credit. Pension credit can also open up entitlements such as housing benefit, support on mortgage payments, council tax discounts, help with NHS costs, and discount on Royal Mail redirection services.

How North East MPs voted in the Winter Fuel Payment plans

Ayes

None

Noes

Luke Akehurst, North Durham

Lewis Atkinson, Sunderland Central

Sir Alan Campbell, Tynemouth

Mark Ferguson, Gateshead Central and Whickham

Emma Foody, Cramlington and Killingworth

Mary Glindon, Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend

Lola McEvoy, Darlington

Catherine McKinnell, Newcastle upon Tyne North

Joe Morris, Hexham

Chi Onwurah, Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West

Bridget Phillipson, Houghton and Sunderland South

Sam Rushworth, Bishop Auckland

David Smith, North Northumberland

Alan Strickland, Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor

Liz Twist, Blaydon and Consett

No vote recorded

Mary Foy, City of Durham

Sharon Hodgson, Washington and Gateshead South

Ian Lavery, Blyth and Ashington

Emma Lewell-Buck, South Shields

Grahame Morris, Easington

Kate Osborne, Jarrow and Gateshead East