Cuts to Winter Fuel Payments 

I voted against the Government’s plans to scrap winter fuel Payments on 10 September 2025, and spoke in that debate to set out my opposition.  If you would like to, you can find my speech on the matter at the 17.22 timestamp here. 

In Chichester alone, more than 24,000 pensioners were affected by this change. I heard from so many residents who feared how they would afford their energy bills this winter, some worried about keeping well while cutting back on heating; others about having to choose between heating and eating. Pensioners are among the most vulnerable in our community, with over two million nationally already in poverty, and the cost-of-living crisis has made life even tougher.

Following months of pressure from Liberal Democrat MPs and campaigners, the Chancellor has now U-turned: people over State Pension age in England and Wales with incomes of £35,000 a year or less will receive winter fuel Payments for 2025–26, with payments made automatically. While this belated decision is welcome, the hardship caused last winter cannot be overstated. That’s why my Liberal Democrat colleagues and I are calling for the Government to backdate payments to those who would now qualify, and to confirm whether the £35,000 threshold will be uprated with inflation so more pensioners aren’t pushed out of eligibility each year.

We’ve also pressed ministers to do far more to cut bills at source: roll out a rapid home-energy upgrade programme (with free insulation and heat pumps for low-income households), reintroduce meaningful incentives for clean heating, introduce a social tariff for the most vulnerable, and fix the long delays to Warm Home grants. We continue to challenge the lack of progress on higher standards for new homes.

Alongside my Liberal Democrat colleagues in Parliament, I will continue to press the government to reverse their cuts to the Winter Fuel Allowance and fight to support pensioners in Chichester. 
 
In the meantime, if I can encourage you to check your eligibility for pension credits with the Department of Work and Pensions, as we know that 800,000 pensioners are eligible for this additional credit and are currently not claiming it. You can check your eligibility and apply here.