MPs vote in favour of scrapping the winter fuel allowance

Responding to the news that the government has faced off opposition to plans to scrap the winter fuel allowance for all pensioners but those on the lowest incomes, Emi Murphy, warm homes campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:

“It’s not surprising, but it is disappointing that MPs didn’t block the government’s plans to scrap the winter fuel allowance for millions of pensioners, just a month before energy bills shoot up again and with the colder months inching closer. 

"Earlier this year, our research with the Institute of Health Equity revealed the enormous health impacts and economic burden caused by the lack of action to upgrade the nation’s homes - the latter including avoidable NHS costs. Cutting the winter fuel allowance for those that need it could add yet more pressure to our overstretched health service.

“Besides the urgency with which the government must publish its promised Warm Homes Plan for insulating homes, which will ensure they are warm and cheap to heat, there remains a pressing need for financial support for all low-income households facing another winter of deeply unaffordable energy bills - not just pensioners."

ENDS