Political opinion: Conservative MP Blake Stephenson welcomes Government’s Winter Fuel Payments u-turn
Blake Stephenson, the MP for Mid Bedfordshire, has welcomed a u-turn by the Prime Minister on Winter Fuel Payments and thanked everyone on all sides for their tireless campaigning, including the wonderful charity AgeUK, with whom Blake has been working closely.
After the Labour Government cut payments for some of the most vulnerable pensioners, the local Conservative MP has spent months campaigning for the decision to be reviewed.
Local MP Blake had called out the Prime Minister in the House of Commons for forcing some pensioners to choose ‘between heating and eating’ when the Winter Fuel Payments cut was first announced last year.
At Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday (21st May), Sir Keir Starmer signalled his intention to make more pensioners eligible for the scheme, which is something Blake has welcomed, but has urged caution until more details are announced at a ‘fiscal event’.
He said: “I am pleased the Prime Minister appears to have finally accepted Labour got it wrong on Winter Fuel Payments.
“We warned the PM about the impact this would have on vulnerable pensioners from the start, and it is disappointing it has taken them this long to act.
“I have been continuing to fight the corner for local pensioners since being elected and incredibly the Government could not even tell me how many pensioners had been affected by this decision.
“While this is a promising statement from the PM, we need to wait to hear the full details – perhaps at the next Budget - before celebrating any success.”