Pressure works and backbench MPs can make a real difference for their constituents

WELCOME back to my monthly column - and thank you to everyone who got in touch after last month’s piece about unlicenced mopeds!

- Rebecca Paul, Conservative MP for Reigate

There is more to say on that, but this month, I want to highlight a welcome development that I know will really make a difference for many this winter.

You may have seen that the Government has now agreed to reinstate Winter Fuel Payments for hundreds of thousands of pensioners.

It's no secret that this wasn’t something which came easily - in fact it’s something they were pushed into, thanks to sustained pressure from opposition MPs, campaigners and members of the public who simply refused to let the issue be ignored.

I’m especially proud that my first question at Prime Minister's Questions - and actually my first contribution in the House of Commons at all - was on this very issue.