Newbury MP Lee Dillon calls for rethink on ending winter fuel payments for pensioners

Newbury’s MP is vowing to stand up for pensioners facing the prospect of losing the winter fuel payment.

Before the Parliamentary recess new Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that the £300 benefit would be axed for everyone but recipients of pension credit.

She said this was due to the financial situation Labour had inherited from the Conservatives, saying it was “a £22bn hole in public finances”.

The decision has provoked outrage, with Age UK launching a petition calling for a rethink.

Its charity director, Caroline Abrahams, said: “What worries us the most is that we fear many will not be able to afford to stay adequately warm this winter as a result.

“This will potentially cause them enormous anxiety and distress, as well as undermining their physical health, especially if they are living with serious health conditions.”

Now, Newbury’s Liberal Democrat MP Lee Dillon has said he has given his backing to a Parliamentary motion that, if passed, would block the plans.

He says 16,395 pensioners in his Newbury constituency are at risk of losing the payment, designed to help with heating bills during the colder winter months.

The figure comprises those of retirement age who don’t receive pension credit.

The motion will be tabled when Parliament returns from its summer recess today (Monday).

If passed, the motion would keep the current system of universal Winter Fuel Payments for pensioner households in place.

Mr Dillon said all 72 Liberal Democrat MPs were backing the plan, and would help the 11 million pensioners across the country who will be affected by the £148 increase in the energy price cap from October.

He said he didn’t want pensioners to have to choose between heating and eating.

“I’ve heard from countless pensioners across the Newbury area, and they are worried about losing this vital support and scared about how they will afford their energy bills this winter,” he continued.

“Stripping support from many of the poorest pensioners in Newbury just when energy bills are set to rise again is simply wrong.

“It could force vulnerable elderly people in our community to choose between eating and heating this winter.

“With my fellow Liberal Democrat MPs, we will do everything we can to block these plans as soon as Parliament returns.

“I recognise that the new government faces difficult choices after the appalling mess left by the Conservatives.

“A rethink is urgently needed so that poorer and vulnerable pensioners in our community continue to get the support they so desperately need.”