Horsham MP to vote against Winter Fuel Allowance cut

It comes as a new poll commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed the full impact of the government’s plans.

Staggeringly, over half of UK pensioners polled said they would have to heat their homes less this winter, while four in 10 will look to cut back on other day-to-day needs. That includes food with one in five pensioners saying they will have to eat less to make up the difference.

In Horsham more than 18,500 pensionersare at risk of losing the £300 payment, which pensioners use to help with heating bills in the cold winter months. Research from the charity Age UK reveals that two million will find paying their energy bills a real stretch.

Liberal Democrats called for the right to vote on this issue and will now take this opportunity to oppose the plans.

Commenting, Mr Milne said: “Along with my Liberal Democrats I will be voting against the government’s cut to winter fuel payments.

“This will impact on pensioners earning as little as £13,000 a year, not just the better off. There was no warning of this in Labour’s manifesto. Frankly it looks like an announcement made in haste, but which they won’t withdraw for fear of looking weak. You can see that even many Labour MPs are deeply uncomfortable with this proposal.

“So many pensioners have contacted me with their concerns. The money it saves won’t touch the sides of the black hole in the government’s finances, but it will certainly cause great hardship for pensioners.”