Cornwall Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George says he will vote against government plans to withdraw the winter fuel allowance tomorrow – but his Labour colleagues are being a bit more cagey.
According to the Guardian newspaper today up to 50 Labour MPs could refuse to back the “unpopular” measure during a vote in Westminster on Tuesday (September 10).
The Labour government says it must do this to fill the black hole in public finances left by the previous Conservative government.
The Packet approached three Cornwall Labour MPs for Falmouth and Truro, St Austell and Newquay and Camborne and Redruth asking them how they intended to vote and why.
By the end of the day we had received no reply from either Perran Moon for Camborne and Redruth or Noah Law for St Austell, although Jayne Kirkham’s office said they could not issue a comment until after the vote as it would “pre-determine" it. They promised a statement afterwards though.
However Andrew George was not afraid of pre-determining his vote and said in a statement on Facebook he would vote against it.
He said if the government wanted to cut the bill for the winter fuel allowance they should start by removing entitlement from those in the highest tax band and those in the highest council tax banding.
“PM [Kier] Starmer claims ‘those with the broadest shoulders will bear the greatest burden," he said.
"The government should do that by closing tax loopholes and tax dodges taken advantage of by the wealthy, rather than to make those who are already struggling pay for this.
“The new government should be reversing the widening inequality, not extending it. As I've said before, if they want to cut the bill for the winter fuel allowance, they could start by removing entitlement from those in the highest tax band and those in the highest council tax banding.”
In July the government announced that the winter fuel allowance for pensioners should be means tested to fill a £22bn “black hole” in the public finances.
The number receiving it in England and Wales would drop from 11.4 million to 1.5million, saving about £1.5bn a year.
The vote on Tuesday was triggered by the Conservatives formally opposing the plan.
Despite the opposition, the bill is expected to pass.
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