Winter fuel allowance: Labour rebels back motion calling for cut to be postponed

Ten Labour MPs are backing a motion calling on the government to postpone the ending of winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners.

The early day motion, tabled by Labour MP for Poole Neil Duncan-Jordan, comes amid growing tensions over the controversial proposal, which would see the benefit means tested only to those who claim pension credit.

The motion expresses concern at the measure “being introduced without prior consultation or an impact assessment, not with sufficient time to put in place a proper and effective take-up campaign for pension credit”.

It also expresses fears about the impact of the 10% increase in the energy price cap from October if cuts to the winter fuel payment are enacted, and calls on the government to establish a “comprehensive strategy to tackle fuel poverty, health inequality and low incomes among older people”.

The cut in winter fuel payments, should it pass, is expected to affect around ten million pensioners and save the Treasury £1.4bn this financial year.

Labour supporters of the motion include York Central MP Rachael Maskell, who has been vocal in her opposition to the proposed cut in recent weeks, Norwich South MP Clive Lewis, Nottingham East MP Nadia Whittome and Liverpool Riverside MP Kim Johnson.

Five of the seven suspended Labour MPs have also expressed support for the motion, along with two members of the newly-formed Independent Alliance, two SNP MPs and one MP each from the DUP, Green Party and Alliance.

List of current signatories of the motion

• Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour, Poole)
• Zarah Sultana (Independent, Coventry South)
• Rachael Maskell (Labour, York Central)
• Jon Trickett (Labour, Normanton and Hemsworth)
• Clive Lewis (Labour, Norwich South)
• Nadia Whittome (Labour, Nottingham East)
• John McDonnell (Independent, Hayes and Harlington)
• Jim Shannon (DUP, Strangford)
• Kim Johnson (Labour, Liverpool Riverside)
• Ian Byrne (Independent, Liverpool West Derby)
• Ayoub Khan (Independent Alliance, Birmingham Perry Barr)
• Aspana Begum (Independent, Poplar and Limehouse)
• Ellie Chowns (Green Party, North Herefordshire)
• Richard Burgon (Independent, Leeds East)
• Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance, Lagan Valley)
• Ian Lavery (Labour, Blyth and Ashington)
• Kate Osborne (Labour, Jarrow and Gateshead East)
• Shockat Adam (Independent Alliance, Leicester South)
• Chris Law (SNP, Dundee Central)
• Pete Wishart (SNP, Perth and Kinross-shire)
• Simon Opher (Labour, Stroud)
• Chris Hinchliff (Labour, North East Hertfordshire)

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Labour has not indicated whether those who vote against the government’s proposal will lose the whip.

At Prime Ministers’ Questions yesterday, Keir Starmer showed no signs of a u-turn on the cuts and defended the plan to means test the winter fuel payment, citing the £22bn budget black hole left by the Conservatives.

Starmer said: “We have taken a difficult decision – I do not pretend it is not difficult, of course it is – because we have to stabilise the economy.

“The first thing the Chancellor did was an audit. She found £22bn worth of unfunded spending commitments. We cannot walk past that, we cannot pretend that it does not exist – that is what the last government did.

“We will put in all the support that we can, but we have to take the tough decisions on this.

“The Conservatives walked away from those decisions and that is what got us into this mess in the first place. We cannot grow and fix our economy unless we stabilise it first.”

LabourList contacted the Labour Party to ask whether MPs who vote against the government’s plan to cut the winter fuel allowance would lose the whip but received no response.

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