Caroline Voaden votes against Winter Fuel cut
Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden for South Devon has announced they will be voting against the Government’s planned cut to the Winter Fuel Allowance.
This follows a poll commissioned by the Liberal Democrats on the effects of the cut to the winter fuel allowance this winter. The poll of pensioners showed that three in four (75%) expect to be affected by the Government’s cut to winter fuel allowance payments. The poll claims more than half (55%) of UK pensioners polled said they would likely be heating their homes less this winter, while 4 in 10 will look to cut back on other ‘essentials’. 1 in 5 (19%) pensioners are planning to eat less this winter due to the cut.
Locally, the analysis shows an estimated 23, 179 pensioners in the South Devon constituency are at risk of losing the £300 payment, which helps with heating bills in the cold winter months.
Research from the charity Age UK shows the proposed cut to Winter Fuel Payments will mean two million will find paying their energy bills a real stretch and will be seriously hit by this cut. Liberal Democrats initially called for a vote by tabling a motion and will now take the opportunity to oppose the Government.
Sir Kier Starmer defends the changes as being due to a £22 billion ‘Black-Hole’ left as a legacy from the previous Tory government however many Labour MPs are likely to abstain or even vote against the unpopular bill.
Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden for South Devon said: “Liberal Democrats will be voting against the Government’s cut to winter fuel payments for pensioners. We cannot stand by while pensioners have to choose between heating and eating this winter in a cost of living crisis. I have been inundated with local people who are already struggling and who are scared about what this winter will bring, so I’ll be standing up for them in Parliament. While we understand the dire state the Conservatives left the public finances in, now is not the time to be cutting support to some of the most vulnerable people in our society.”
Most importantly Age UK have made an online calculator available to check eligibility for any benefits you are entitled to and people are encouraged to check their own eligibility to ensure they receive what they are entitled to.
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I’m over eighty too, I’ll miss the £300 Winter Fuel payment and whatever has been said by Government representatives that pensioners will be receiving an addition £400 in next year’s State Pension, I know it will not happen for me, on a pre-2016 pension with only 29 years of contributions (39 years needed for a full pension) I may get as much as £170. And many other old pensioners know this too. After 20 years of paying no income tax at all, recently with fiscal drag I am paying income tax again. It’s good to be contributing. I no longer have access to an NHS dentist now Dart Dental has gone all private, which I totally understand from their side, now getting a filling can easily equate to 4 weeks of my State Pension….. I joke not. Our country is in a fragile and sad state.
Well thank you for voting against the winter fuel cut, but what I would really like to know is WHY they couldn’t just reduce the price of fuel in the first place, it’s been far too high for too long…I suppose it’s for the shareholders? Also,
the house could have agreed to have still payed the over 80’s if the temperature dropped below a certain level? …they’re all heart aren’t they?
Thanks for reading.