Cumbria MPs slated after vote to cut Winter Fuel Payments

The change, opposed by charity Age UK, marks a significant reduction in the number of pensioners eligible for the benefit.

The benefit was previously available to almost everyone in the UK who was born before 25 September 1957 to help cover their heating costs.

However, from this winter only those on Pension Credit or means-tested benefits will get the Winter Fuel Payment - those on the credit will get £200 and £300 if someone is over 80.

Across the Cumberland Council area, just over 10,000 residents are set to receive the payments - down from the 115,578 who receive them now.

According to the Cumbria Community Foundation, an average of 300 deaths occur across the county each year due to the effects of cold weather.

How MPs voted

MPs voted 348 to 228 against the Conservative motion that aimed to stop the cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment, meaning the planned cuts will go ahead.

Carlisle MP Julie Minns, Penrith and Solway MP Markus Campbell-Savours, and Whitehaven and Workington MP Josh MacAlister—all Labour—voted against the Conservative motion, effectively supporting the Government’s plan to implement the cuts.

In contrast, MP Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) voted in favour of the Conservative motion, opposing the cuts.

Be in no doubt, there will many pensioners forced to choose between eating and heating this winter as a result of this move.

I was proud to vote against these appalling plans and will keep fighting to stop them in any way that I can. https://t.co/oRvP5DanOp

— Tim Farron (@timfarron) September 10, 2024

Carlisle MP Julie Minns described the 'difficult decision' for the cuts but described it as a result of 'unprecendented scale and size of the financial mess left by the Conservatives'. 

"Time and again they made unfunded spending pledges knowing it would not be left to them to clear up the mess," she said. 

"By contrast, I and my Labour colleagues stood on a platform of restoring our country onto a stable financial footing. We need to grow our economy so we can invest in our NHS, armed forces, schools, roads and prisons. In the short term, that means difficult decisions, decisions the Conservatives, addicted to popularism were incapable of making. 

"The biggest and most pressing decision is how to plug the £22bn hole the Tories left in this year’s budget. To do this we have to make huge in year spending cuts, cuts forced on us by the Tories.

"It is with a heavy heart that I voted to support the means testing the winter fuel payment, not because I wanted to, but because the same party that gave us Liz Truss, shared her casual disregard for good financial management and left the country teetering on the edge of a gaping black money pit. 

"But we have taken steps to protect the most vulnerable pensioners. Those in receipt of pension credit – a legacy of the last Labour government – will still receive winter fuel payments in full, and we are driving a huge take-up amongst those eligible but not claiming. Something, yet again the Tories could have done, but failed to do.  

"It’s also important to note that energy bills are lower this year than they were last year.

Read more: What is the Winter Fuel Payment and who is entitled?

"The energy price cap is currently £266 lower than it was last Autumn. Wilfully ignoring this price fall is scaremongering, and isn’t helping people worried about their bills.

"And finally, the triple lock increased the new state pension by £900 in April, and for those who are struggling, Labour has also extended the household support fund for a further six months, a vital lifeline administered by local councils.

"I won’t pretend this was an easy decision, but this is what proper government in hard times looks like. The Tories left our country in a mess, and this is the first in a series of steps we are taking to fix it,” she said.

Criticism levelled at decision 

Prior to the vote, former Workington MP Mark Jenkinson, said: "The ability of pensioners to afford to heat their homes can be a matter of life and death for the vulnerable and elderly in our communities.

Read more: Labour's winter fuel payment cuts 'senseless' says former MP

"Around 90 per cent of pensioners in this area who qualified for a Winter Fuel Payment a month ago now find themselves ineligible with little notice: they have quite literally been left out in the cold."

Gavin Hawkton, who stood as Carlisle’s Green Party candidate at the last general election, said people have been 'misled'.

"Labour promised change but are delivering more austerity that will hurt the most vulnerable here in Cumbria.

"Energy companies made over £1 billion a week in profits last year around the world, while people struggled to pay bills. A party that truly cares about the vulnerable would tax these obscene profits to fund winter fuel payments.

"The Labour Party itself recognised that cutting winter fuel payments could kill thousands of pensioners.

"Now their MPs support these cuts. It’s not just a disgrace - it’s a betrayal of the ideals that the Labour Party was founded upon.

"Julie’s voting record is shocking, even this early on. First, she backed the two-child benefit cap, locking children into poverty.

"Now she supports cuts that will harm the elderly.

"Does she not understand the suffering this will cause in Carlisle, or does she just not care?" he said. 

Advice 

Following the decision, Age UK Carlisle and Eden will be hosting an event offering advice and support for winter, signing people up for free home energy checks, and giving away winter warmth packs on October 1 at the Lanes Shopping Centre from 10 till 3pm.  

The charity, which provides information and advice on a range of issues relating to older people and those who care for them, can be contacted via 01228 536673.