Epsom & Ewell MP blasts Government for taking almost a year to begin listening to concerns about Winter Fuel Payment cuts

Epsom & Ewell’s Liberal Democrat MP, Helen Maguire has slammed the Government for taking almost a year to start to listen to people’s concerns about the slashing over Winter Fuel Payments.

The Chancellor has said that she will listen to the concerns over the Government’s decision saying that “I do understand the concerns that people have” and that she would “continue to listen to understand the concerns that people have raised”.

Helen Maguire has consistently opposed the Government’s decision to scrap winter fuel payments, raising serious concerns about how the measures would affect her constituents in Epsom & Ewell, as well as veterans.

Liberal Democrat MP for Epsom & Ewell, Helen Maguire said:

“If the Chancellor had listened to the concerns of pensioners in Epsom & Ewell, who have been worried about staying warm or going hungry, she would have realised what a disastrous decision this was.

“The Government should feel embarrassed that it has taken almost a year and an awful set of local elections to finally start to get the message which I have repeated to them time and again in Westminster. This policy was doomed to fail and some of the most vulnerable are bearing the brunt of these cuts.

“We wait and see if the Government has listened and bring forward a genuine plan to change course but after this utter shambles I do not have much hope. My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I will hold the Chancellor’s feet to the fire and make sure that pensioners here in Epsom & Ewell get the fair deal they deserve.”