Patrick Spencer and Nick Timothy hit out at winter fuel cuts

At the end of July, new chancellor Rachel Reeves revealed a government plan to restrict winter fuel payments to those only on pension credits or other means-tested benefits. 

Nationally, this policy is expected to reduce the number of pensioners in receipt of the payment by about 10million - from 11.4million to 1.5million - saving some £1.4billion this financial year.

In Suffolk alone this means some 155,366 Suffolk residents are set to stop receiving the payment as they will no longer be classed as eligible.

Patrick Spencer, Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP, is urging residents across his constituency to sign a petition calling for the government to change its mind.

Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP, Patrick Spencer (Image: House of Commons)

The petition, launched by Age UK, has more than 400,000 signatures.

Mr Spencer said: "I have been clear from the start about my opposition to this cruel policy and I will continue to speak out against it.

"Our pensioners deserve better than this and with cynicism in politics running at a record high, this decision by Labour, one of the first it made when it came to power, whilst at no stage mentioning it during the general election, only adds into that cynicism. Labour needs to reverse this cruel decision now and restore the winter fuel allowance to all pensioners.

“I have added my name to the petition and I hope others will too so we can send a clear message to the new Government that targeting our pensioners is not something we will stand for.”

Mr Spencer said more than 50 organisations had written to the chancellor about this decision.

The groups make up the End Fuel Poverty Coalition which said it will result in pensioners not on means-tested benefits seeing a 15 per cent increase in their energy bills this winter.

“For many people their only source of income is the state pension and unless a U-turn can be achieved, now they will not get this much needed extra help," he said.

"This is money that helped ensure they could heat their homes in the winter. It is a disastrous decision by Rachel Reeves and people will not forgive or forget."

Nick Timothy, Tory MP for West Suffolk, said: "Labour did not have to break their election commitment to pensioners. It was a clear choice to take money from vulnerable people on low incomes while handing billions to the unions that funded their election campaign.

MP Nick Timothy, who represents West Suffolk (Image: House of Commons)

“During the campaign I promised to vote to keep the triple lock for pensioners and against any moves to drag the state pension into income tax. So I will also fight this Labour plan — which they kept secret before the election — to punish those who have only ever done the right thing by working and paying into the system."

Speaking during the unveiling, Rachel Reeves said: "This is not a decision I wanted to make nor is it the one that I expected to make, but these are the necessary and urgent decisions that I must make."

She said the government has inherited a projected overspend of £22billion from the previous Conservative administration.