A County Durham MP has faced calls from the public to resign as chair of the board of Age UK Gateshead after voting to cut winter fuel payments.

Blaydon and Consett MP Liz Twist is chair of the board of governors of Age UK Gateshead.

The MP voted with the Labour Party to cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners which is expected to be formally announced on Wednesday's budget.

Ms Twist is the Prime Minister's Parliamentary Private Secretary, a role involving feeding back the opinions of backbench MPs to Downing Street to help with party management.

She was appointed as Chair of Age UK Gateshead in 2023, saying in a Facebook post that she was "thrilled" to take up the role.

But after voting alongside the government on the cut to the winter fuel allowance, her position as chair of the local charity's board came under scrutiny with some constituents branding it 'hypocritical'.

A number of residents in Blaydon and Consett have emailed the charity to ask that Ms Twist steps down from her role on the board.

A commenter on social media said: "Age UK had a petition to keep the winter fuel payment, yet our MP voted against keeping it while being the Chair of Age UK Gateshead."

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Another said: "How could you vote to get rid of the winter fuel payments? Hypocrisy at its best." 

A rumour had been circulating that the MP had stood down from the role last week, but Ms Twist hit back at these reports in a statement issued on Friday.

"I have not resigned in my position as Chair of Age UK Gateshead," she said.

"Over the last year it has been a privilege to work in this role supporting an incredible charity that is making a real difference to the lives of people over 50 in Gateshead.

I want to pay tribute to the staff and volunteers going the extra mile to ensure people have the support they need."

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said decisions such as squeezing winter fuel payments were due to the state the Tories left the country in.

“Stabilising our economy is the first step of [Labour's] long-term plan," the PM said in his Labour Party conference speech in September.

“[It is] the only way we can keep prices low, cut NHS waiting lists and secure the triple lock so that every pensioner in this country, every pensioner, will be better off with Labour.”