MPs have voted to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment in a vote in the House of Commons earlier this afternoon in what is being called Labour’s “war on pensioners”.
A motion to annul the Government’s cuts to winter fuel payments has been defeated by 348 votes to 228, majority 120, in the House of Commons.
The motion to slash Winter Fuel Payments will go ahead after the Government defeated an attempt by opposition MPs to scrap the proposal.
This effectively scraps the benefit, which offers up to £300 in energy bill support, for 10 million older Britons.
In July, Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the new Labour Government’s decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment to address the £22billion “black hole” in the public finances.
Going forward, older Britons will now need to be in receipt of means-tested payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), such as Pension Credit.
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer has come under fire for the controversial decision which has criticism from charities, poverty campaigners and members of his own party.
Former Conservative Cabinet minister Esther McVey has claimed the decision to effectively scrap the energy bill benefit for older households means Labour is “declaring war on pensioners”.
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Winter fuel payments have been cut for millions of pensionersPA
Source Agencies
