Wrexham’s MP explains his Winter Fuel vote

Wrexham’s new MP has said he is “convinced that the changes to the Winter Fuel Payment are a necessary part of addressing the £22bn shortfall in the nations finances this year” in a statement this afternoon.

Steve Witherden, the Labour MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr which partially covers the Wrexham area, has also published a statement explaining his vote on the issue.

A Winter Fuel Payment opposition day vote was held with both Wrexham’s Andrew Ranger MP and Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr’s Steve Witherden MP voting ‘against’ a move to block UK Government plans to cut winter fuel payments for most pensioners. Thus the new Labour Government progressed the measure by majority of 120.

Some analysis has said that the move will reduce the number of such fuel payments 11.4 million to 1.5 million people this winter, normally paid in November and December. The move has £1.4 billion attributed to it, reducing the overall welfare bill to the UK as the UK Government looks to fix a ‘£22bn black hole’ that Labour say they discovered since taking power from the Conservatives.

Andrew Ranger MP has since published a statement detailing the reasoning behind his vote:

After this week’s vote in Parliament on the Winter Fuel Payment, I wanted to explain why I voted with the government.
Firstly, let me stress that this was not a straightforward decision for me, and it was only this week following meetings with the Chancellor, other ministers and colleagues that I made my decision – one I know that some people will not agree with. It was not a decision that any Labour MP wanted to make.

I completely understand that for some pensioners the change to the Winter Fuel Payment will be a matter of serious concern, and I am determined to do all I can to ensure that those who are impacted the most in Wrexham will get the support and help that they are entitled to.

The new government inherited a broken economy and public services stretched beyond breaking point. It took the last government 14 years to reach this point and fixing the mess they left behind will not happen overnight. The first priority must be to bring stability to the economy so that we can start seeing investment into the country which will mean more jobs, higher wages and allow us to fix the public services that all of us rely on.

After many meetings and discussions with minsters and others in the government over the past few weeks, I have been convinced that the changes to the Winter Fuel Payment are a necessary part of addressing the £22bn shortfall in the nations finances this year. We cannot be like the previous government and continue to kick hard decisions into the long grass. We are all still feeling the effects of their inaction and recklessness. It is essential that when resources are limited that they are targetted at those the most in need.

The government is committed to protecting the triple lock on pensions over the lifetime of this parliament. The triple lock saw the new state pension rise by over £900 this year, and a further rise will be announced at the budget next month. And because of the commitment to the triple lock, pensions are projected to increase by over £1,700 over the course of this parliament.

In Wrexham, I am determined to ensure that people can access the support they need – access denied to them by the previous government – over 800,000 pensioners missed out on money owed to them last year. I will be holding a series of drop-in advice surgeries to offer help and support to pensioners affected by the government’s change. The first of these will be on the 28th September in association with the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, who will be there to offer advice and assistance on claiming pension credit and other support that you could be entitled to. If you wish to attend, please contact my office at [email protected] and you will be advised of the details.
I also encourage you, your friends, family and neighbours to see if they are eligible to receive pension credit by visiting the following link: www.gov.uk/pension-credit/eligibility or by calling the Pension Credit claim line at 0800 99 1234.

I appreciate that you may not agree with how I voted on this matter, but I trust I have explained my reasoning for doing so.

Thank you.