Josh Dean on why he voted with the Government on cutting winter fuel payments to 9.9 million pensioners
Bishop’s Stortford’s Labour MP is to hold dedicated advice surgeries for pensioners to help ensure they are getting all the money to which they are entitled.
Josh Dean made the pledge ahead of voting on Tuesday (Sept 10) for 9.9 million pensioners to lose winter fuel payments of £200 or £300 in November and December.
The number of payments will fall from 11.4 million to the 1.5 million poorest pensioners who claim Pension Credit to top up a low income as the Government moves to start means-testing the handout.
In a statement released before the vote explaining why he would be voting with the Government, Mr Dean toed the party line that the impact on the millions losing out would be cushioned by the fact that the full state pension is rising 4% by £460 in April.
He said that his office was “actively working” to support pensioners who have concerns or who need advice about their eligibility for Pension Credit and any other benefits, he cited a Government campaign to boost uptake among the 880,000 eligible pensioners who are not claiming the credit, and he said that an extension of the Household Support Fund would ensure that those just above the Pension Credit threshold are supported.
In the Commons, the Conservative opposition put forward a motion to block plans to means-test the benefits. It was supported by Kemi Badenoch, Tory MP for North West Essex and one of four contenders to be her party’s next leader, as well as by the Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party, Greens and Democratic Unionist Party.
But the Government won the vote by 348 to 228, a majority of 120. Mr Dean’s constituency neighbours, Chris Vince – whose Harlow seat includes the Hallingburys, Hatfield Heath and Hatfield Broad Oak – and Chris Hinchliff – whose North East Herts seat takes in Little Hadham, Braughing, Standon and Puckeridge – voted with the Government.
One Labour MP, Jon Trickett in West Yorkshire, voted for the Tory motion. And 52 of his party colleagues, including seven ministers, did not take part in the vote.
It is not clear how many deliberately abstained or were absent from Parliament. Labour said 12 of its MPs absent for the vote had not been authorised. BBC News found that around 20 of those who did not vote had previously publicly expressed opposition to the policy, for instance in interviews or on social media.
During the debate, Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride said Labour had “caved in to its trade union paymasters” with above-inflation pay settlements for striking workers made “on the backs of vulnerable pensioners”.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall accused the Tories of “faux outrage” and of leaving the 880,000 pensioners eligible for benefits out in the cold. She said they “never took the action needed to increase Pension Credit uptake” and accused them of playing “fast and loose with the public finances”.
The change is expected to shave £1.4bn from the welfare bill this year as a step towards filling the £22bn “black hole” Chancellor Rachel Reeves says the Government inherited from the Conservatives.
JOSH DEAN STATEMENT IN FULL ON WHY HE VOTED WITH THE GOVERNMENT ON WINTER FUEL PAYMENTS
I appreciate why some residents in our community will be concerned about the changes to winter fuel payments. I want to address those concerns head on and be as open as possible about my reasons for voting with the Government, as well as the work my office is undertaking to ensure that pensioners in Hertford and Stortford are supported.
This Government was given a mandate to get Britain back on its feet. This means taking the tough decisions necessary to repair the £22 billion black hole left behind by the previous Conservative administration and stabilise the country’s public finances. I believe it is the responsibility of Government to act in difficult circumstances, not to avoid difficult decisions because they may be unpopular.
This includes the difficult decisions to means-test winter fuel payments. This is not a decision that this Government wanted or expected to make, and it is certainly not one that I entered Parliament to make. That the Chancellor has been forced to set out this difficult step… demonstrates the scale of the challenge posed by our inheritance from the previous administration.
Given these circumstances, I believe it is right that the Government acts now to get the public finances on a firmer footing rather than shirking tough decisions like this one. Providing economic stability is essential if we are to attract the investment and growth that Britain desperately needs to fund our public services, not least the NHS on which our pensioners rely.
I want to be clear that those in receipt of Pension Credit will continue to receive winter fuel payments. We know that over 800,000 eligible pensioners are not claiming the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled and that is why we have launched a cross-government campaign to boost its uptake. Applications can be made online, over the phone or via a paper form, and I strongly encourage you to check your eligibility by visiting www.gov.uk/pension-credit/eligibillity or by calling the Pension Credit claim line on 0800 99 1234.
We are taking decisive action to ensure that those just above the Pension Credit threshold are supported through an extension of the Household Support Fund, announced last week. This will provide £500 million of targeted support for those most in need, because we know it is a lifeline for those struggling with the cost of living.
This Government is committed to protecting the triple lock on pensions for the lifetime of this Parliament and this is the baseline of our support for pensioners.
The triple lock saw the state pension rise by £900 this year and a further increase will be announced in the October Budget. Because of this commitment, the state pension is set to rise by another 4% in April, meaning an extra £460 a year for pensioners, and the state pension is projected to rise by over £1,000 in the next five years, benefitting millions of pensioners across the country and many in our community.
My office is actively working to support pensioners in our community who have concerns, questions or who need advice with regards to their eligibility for Pension Credit or any other benefit they may be entitled to.
My number one priority is to ensure that our pensioners in Hertford and Stortford are able to claim any benefit for which they are eligible, and residents can get in touch with me for support by emailing josh.dean.mp@parliament.uk.
To ensure that pensioners in our community can access support in person, I will be increasing the number of advice surgeries I hold in the constituency, with dedicated sessions for pensioners to help ensure they are in receipt of everything they are entitled to.
No one is pretending that [yesterday’s] vote [was] easy. But the hard graft of Government must be preferable to the sticking plaster politics favoured by the previous Conservative administration, which left us with the dire inheritance we are now working to correct.
This is what that hard graft looks like in tough times, and it is our responsibility as politicians to take the tough decisions and explain our reasons for doing so.
I got into politics to ensure that every resident, and every pensioner, in Hertford and Stortford can live happy, prosperous lives. I want to reassure you that this will remain at the front of my mind throughout my time in Parliament.