The government has defeated a Conservative motion to block plans to means test the Winter Fuel Payments, meaning millions of pensioners will no longer be able to access them.
On Tuesday, MPs voted 348 to 228 against the motion, with just one Labour MP—Jon Trickett—rebelling, according to the House of Commons division list.
“I have worked behind the scenes to try and change the government’s position, but to no avail,” Trickett wrote.
He added: “I could not in good conscience vote to make my constituents poorer. I will sleep well tonight knowing that I voted to defend my constituents.”
While the new Labour government won with a comfortable 120 vote margin, it has a working majority of 167 and there were 52 Labour MPs with no vote being recorded. However, this does not automatically mean they were all abstentions, as some MPs may have been unable to attend owing to other commitments and were given permission to miss the vote.
Tory chairman Richard Fuller MP said that Labour was declaring a “war on pensioners.”
‘Really Tough Decision’
The government said it had no choice but to make the Winter Fuel Payments—worth £300 this year—means tested in order to help fix the economy. From now on, the allowance will only be for those claiming Pension Credit or some other form of means-tested benefit.The change is expected to bring down the numbers of those claiming from 11.4 million pensioners to 1.5 million, saving the Treasury around £1.4 billion annually.
Following the vote, the prime minister’s spokeswoman said: “The government was elected on a mandate to restore financial stability and fix the foundations of the country—that is vital before you can grow the economy. And so this policy is in line with that, and he welcomes the progress that’s made.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said that this was “a really tough decision that we’ve had to make,” but that Labour had been elected into government on the basis of creating economic stability.
“If you’re asking whether I recognise it’s a tough decision I absolutely recognise the tough decision. If you’re asking, would I want to make this decision, the answer is no, but I did not want to inherit a £22 billion black hole, and I’m not prepared to walk past that,” Starmer said.
He added that the measures to stabilise the economy are “the foundation for the triple lock, which in the end means that the state pension will increase in a way that outstrips the Winter Fuel Payment.”
Suspended MPs
Of those who voted against the government were five of the seven former Labour backbenchers who were suspended after voting against the government over the two-child benefit cap in July: Apsana Begum, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, John McDonnell, and Zarah Sultana.Over the weekend, Labour MP Rosie Duffield said that while she was vocally against the government’s plans, she would not be voting against them, aware of the party’s recent history of suspending rebel MPs.
“This government has made it very clear that Labour MPs who vote against this new government will be punished and have the whip removed,” Duffield said, adding that she would instead abstain and that she knew of a few colleagues who would be doing the same.
When asked, Starmer said that it would not be up to him on whether any Labour MP voting against the government on the winter fuel allowance would be suspended, saying it is “a matter for the chief whip.”
