Southwark Liberal Democrats have written to the Peckham MP and energy minister responsible urging them to rethink the ‘grave mistake’.
- Thirty thousand pensioners across the five Southwark constituencies face losing £300 fuel payment this winter.
- Southwark Lib Dems write to local MP and energy minister urging to rethink the ‘grave mistake’.
Southwark Liberal Democrats have written to the Peckham MP and energy minister responsible urging them to rethink the ‘grave mistake’.
Miatta Fahnbulleh is the Labour MP for Peckham, but also the minister for fuel poverty at the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.
It comes as new analysis shows that across the five constituencies covering Southwark, 30,000 pensioners are at risk of losing the £300 payment.
This is the estimated number of pensioners in the constituency who don't receive pension credit, and so will lose the winter fuel allowance under the Government’s plans unless they receive other benefits. The figures were compiled by the House of Commons Library based on data from the Department of Work and Pensions.
Across the country, 11 million pensioners are set to lose their winter fuel payment under the Government’s plans, including two million that the charity Age UK has said will struggle to afford their energy bills as a result. This is despite the average energy bill being set to rise by £149 a year from October.
The Liberal Democrats are urging the Government to think again to protect poorer and more vulnerable pensioners from being forced to choose between eating and heating this winter. In Parliament, the Liberal Democrats are moving a motion to block the change.
In their letter, the Southwark Liberal Democrats pointed to the other measures available suggested by figures such as Martin Lewis, and even Miatta Fahnbulleh’s predecessor Harriet Harman.
Commenting, Southwark Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Victor Chamberlain said:
“Stripping support from many of the poorest pensioners just when energy bills are set to rise again is simply wrong. It could force vulnerable elderly people to choose between eating and heating when temperatures drop.
Many pensioners in Southwark are already struggling with bills and they are now racked with worry about how they are going to cope this winter.
The Labour Party has got this wrong and Liberal Democrats will do everything possible to stand up for pensioners and block these plans.
I appreciate that the new government faces difficult choices due to the mess left by the Conservatives but this is not the answer.
Southwark's Labour MPs, especially the energy minister and Labour Party Chairman, need to think again”
Speaking to Times Radio, Lady Harriet Harman, Miatta Fahnbulleh's predecessor as Peckham MP said:
“I think that people will be worried about Winter Fuel Payments because the lower your income, the bigger the chunk, the bigger percentage of your income you spend on your fuel.
“And also for pensioners, they are on a fixed income so there is no remedial way they can earn more to offset it.”
ENDS
NOTES
- View the Letter to Miatta Fahnbulleh MP in the online pdf
- Comment from former Labour MP for Peckham Harriet Harman can be found on The Telegraph
- Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey described cutting the winter fuel allowance as the Government’s ‘first big mistake’ when interviewed on The Standard
- Under the Government’s changes only those pensioners who receive pension credit or other means-tested benefits will still get the £300 winter fuel allowance towards the cost of their energy bills.
- A breakdown of the number of pensioners not receiving pension credit by constituency, compiled by the House of Commons Library, is available in the online excel. 30,000 figure from adding up the figures for the 5 constituencies covering Southwark – local authority level data not available.
- The Liberal Democrats will table a parliamentary motion (known as a “prayer”) to block the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2024, published by the Government last week, from becoming law. If passed by the House of Commons, the motion would keep the current system of universal Winter Fuel Payments for pensioner households in place.
- Age UK research has estimated that two million pensioners will struggle to pay their energy bills due to this cut, see on Age UK website.