THIS week was a key test for the new Labour Government and local Labour MPs.

Are they on the side of the hardworking British people – including our pensioners who, thanks to their own hard work over decades are just above the Pension Credit threshold – or, are they for taking away from some of our lowest earners to pay for their own spending decisions?

Sadly, we have got our answer – and tens of thousands of pensioners across the Dudley Borough and South Staffordshire are now going to lose out on support of a Winter Fuel Payment this winter, losing up to £300 just weeks before they were due to receive the payments.

Along with fellow Conservative MPs, I worked to secure the debate on this proposal and was proud to co-sign the motion alongside the Leader of the Opposition and the Shadow Chancellor, demanding a full debate with a vote. While we were originally told that – disgracefully – the Government were not prepared to make time for such a debate, our campaign and the moral force of the hundreds of thousands of people who have contacted their Member of Parliament about this issue, forced the Government to back down and concede a debate earlier this week.

While Ministers are pretending that they are being forced into removing Winter Fuel Payments by unexpected circumstances, we know that the new Chancellor of the Exchequer first proposed these changes in March 2014; demonstrating how this shocking decision has been literally a decade in the planning. This year was the first time that Labour hadn't specifically promised to protect Winter Fuel Payments in their election manifesto. Therefore, it is quite clear the new Labour Government had this planned since long before the General Election but, shamefully, didn’t have the courage to tell people before they voted.

To be absolutely clear, I voted against the proposal and spoke against it in the debate – explaining why the policy is cruel, vindictive and morally wrong. Sadly, the Government’s majority meant that while they certainly lost the argument, they were still able to win the vote comfortably. The result is that tens of thousands of older people will now be forced to bear a cost that many simply cannot afford. While the picture in Westminster may be gloomy, our community has once again been shining through and coming together to enjoy the last days of summer and first days of autumn.

At Bratch Locks in Wombourne, it was great to join hundreds of local people to see the impressive showcase of an important part of our local heritage at the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal Society Rally.

I also joined councillors and volunteers in Perton for one of their regular community litter picks, and had a great time at the Kinver Scarecrow Trail where businesses and households throughout the village put on a fantastic display of fun scarecrows.

As always, I have also been working on hundreds of issues raised with me by constituents, as well as making arrangements for my upcoming Volunteering Week where I will once again be chipping in to help a range of good causes and public services.