Gideon Amos speaks out on Government fuel payments U-turn

Taunton and Wellington MP, Gideon Amos, has welcomed the government’s u-turn on Winter Fuel Payments to pensioners but said “they should have listened to the Lib Dem opposition in the first place.”
Mr Amos launched a campaign last October after Labour announced that, in future, only people receiving Pension Credit would receive the payment.
He visited local residents and distributed information on how to claim across the constituency.
Now, the Prime Minister has said ministers will change the threshold to allow "more pensioners" to qualify again.
Mr Amos said: “The Chancellor should never have cut Winter Fuel Payments from the poorest pensioners before alternative support was in place. 
“My work locally encouraging people to register for Pension Credit told me that many older residents in Taunton and Wellington are just not used to applying for benefits and don’t feel they deserve them – ending up suffering in silence. 
“Along with Lib Dem MPs from across the country, we told Treasury ministers time and again in Parliament to reverse this policy, to think again, and listen to the older people affected. 
“So while I welcome the Labour government making a u-turn on support for the poorest pensioners, they should have listened to the LibDem opposition in the first place” 
“At the time, they removed the payment, 800,000 pensioners were eligible for continued support due to their low income but weren’t registered for any help, and many still aren’t. 
“Going ahead with cuts without ensuring their welfare was completely wrong.
“Lib Dems made clear at the time that this should never have happened.
“We did so because we listen to people locally and to the real effects on people who fell through the net of support.”