Winter Fuel Payments cuts 'heartless' as Plymouth pensioners are assured
MP Rebecca Smith has slammed Labour for voting to cut Winter Fuel Payments this winter Around 21,980 pensioners in South West Devon will now lose up to £300 in Winter Fuel Payment after MPs voted to scrap the scheme in the House of Commons on September 10.
In total, 347 Labour MPs, (including neighbouring Plymouth MPs) voted to cut the vital payments, despite warnings that pensioners would be forced to choose between heating and eating this winter. After the vote, the MP for South West Devon, said she would continue to fight to help protect vulnerable older people during the winter and will lobby the government to change their plans.
Rebecca said: "This heartless decision just shows clearly where Keir Starmer and his Labour Government have fixed their priorities and it is not with the almost 22,000 pensioners who live here in South West Devon, many of whom live off the mains and rely on oil – which is more expensive than mains gas - to run their central heating.
READ MORE:Plymouth MPs vote to cut Winter Fuel Payment
READ MORE:Major overhaul in PIP assessments as DWP introduces changes
“Despite knowing older people will be struggling to pay to heat their homes this winter – their own report said so – Labour MPs still decided to take this money away from pensioners. It has not taken long for Labour ministers and this Government to reveal their true colours.
“I was proud to stand with Conservative colleagues on College Green outside the House of Commons on Tuesday to oppose Labour’s cruel policy on cuts, and I spoke out in defence of my constituents in the Opposition Day debate on the Winter Fuel Payment”
“I voted against Labour’s plan and will continue to support vulnerable pensioners through the winter months as best as I can.”
The prime minister told the BBC his new government is "going to have to be unpopular" as he defended the "tough" decision to payments. Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Keir Starmer said he was determined to deliver change but this meant having to "do the difficult things now".
Challenged on his plan to remove winter fuel payments from most pensioners while also awarding above inflation pay rises to some public sector workers, he said he was "fixing the foundations" and those in need would still get assistance. He said: "When we talk about tough decisions, I’m talking about... the things the last government ran away from."