The MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd will vote against cutting the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners.

Liz Saville Roberts hopes Labour MPs will back Plaid Cymru and vote against it too.

Speaking ahead of a vote in the House of Commons tomorrow (Tuesday), Mrs Saville Roberts warned the Labour government against pushing pensioners deeper into fuel poverty as UK government figures reveal that 400,000 households in Wales will be worse off if the cut is implemented.

The cut will have a particular impact on pensioners who are off-grid and rely on heating oil. An estimated 49 per cent (30,000) households in Gwynedd are not connected to the gas network which equates to roughly 62 per cent in the Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency.

The MP said: “The UK Government has confirmed that 400,000 households in Wales will lose out due to its plan to cut the Winter Fuel Payment, as revealed in response to parliamentary questions from Plaid Cymru.

“Welsh Labour MPs must now consider whether they can truly justify imposing such a vast scale of hardship. No one with an understanding of Welsh communities could claim that 400,000 Welsh pensioner households are well-off and can get by without this payment.

“Limiting the Winter Fuel Payment to only those on pension credit is far too restrictive. Instead, the government could, for example, increase the age at which pensioners can claim the payment, so that the oldest and most vulnerable continue to be supported.

“Alternatively, the Winter Fuel Payment could be brought within the definition of taxable income. Labour Ministers have repeatedly echoed the line in recent days that the new government is forced to make 'tough choices.

“But why do 'tough choices' always seem to result in more misery for those already struggling? The UK is the sixth-largest economy in the world, and there are 165 billionaires in the country.

“The notion that cutting fuel support for pensioners is inevitable is simply farcical. Pensioners are being pushed deeper into fuel poverty, unfairly scapegoated by Rachel Reeves to promote a pro-austerity narrative that will have serious consequences for older people.

“Those Welsh Labour MPs, elected in June on a platform of 'Change,' must ask themselves whether they want to be part of continuing an ideology that is so detrimental to Wales.

“Pensioners mustn’t be forced to bear the brunt of Westminster’s economic failure. I urge all Welsh Labour MPs to vote alongside Plaid Cymru on Tuesday, to ensure that pensioners are supported through what could be a harsh winter.”