Tom Gordon MP backs motion to protect 20,000 pensioners in Harrogate and Knaresborough from Winter Fuel Payment cut

• Liberal Democrat MP Tom Gordon backs motion in Parliament to block government’s plans to cut Winter Fuel Payments for local pensioners 

• Around 20,000 pensioners in Harrogate and Knaresborough at risk of losing the £300 payment this winter

• Tom Gordon MP calls on the Government to “rethink” the cut so that local vulnerable pensioners continue to get the support they need

Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Tom Gordon, has backed a motion in Parliament to block government plans to scrap Winter Fuel Payments for most pensioners. 

It comes as new analysis shows an estimated 20,000 pensioners in Harrogate and Knaresborough are at risk of losing the £300 payment, which helps with heating bills in the cold winter months.

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. 

If passed, the Liberal Democrat motion would protect local pensioners by blocking the government’s changes and restoring their winter fuel payments. It is set to be tabled as soon as Parliament returns next week and has been backed by all 72 Liberal Democrat MPs.

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.

Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Tom Gordon, said:

“I’ve heard from countless pensioners across Harrogate and Knaresborough worried about losing this vital support and how they will afford their energy bills this winter. 

“Stripping support from many of the poorest pensioners in Harrogate and Knaresborough just when energy bills are set to rise again is simply wrong. It could force vulnerable elderly people in our community to choose between eating and heating this winter.

“That is why my fellow Liberal Democrat MPs and I will do everything we can to block these plans as soon as Parliament returns.

“I recognise that the new government faces difficult choices after the appalling mess left by the Conservatives. But a rethink is urgently needed so that poorer and vulnerable pensioners in our community continue to get the support they so desperately need.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

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 here (source: DWP Stat-xplore)

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 here.