Conservative councillors stormed out of a meeting after a bad-tempered debate on winter fuel payments.

The Tory group on Stoke-on-Trent City Council proposed a motion condemning the Labour government's controversial decision to remove winter fuel payments for all but the poorest pensioners – which they said would affect more than 47,000 city residents.

But the council's ruling Labour group successfully amended the motion, toning down its language and calling for the policy to be revised rather than scrapped. After Labour councillors moved to end the debate and hold a vote, the entire Conservative group left the council chamber in protest.

Tory group leader Dan Jellyman said: "What we've seen today, is a Labour Party opposite that will not support 47,761 pensioners in this city, to send a clear message to their government, that the act of withdrawing winter fuel payments, should be condemned.

Dan Jellyman said 'It's a move that even Kim Jong Un in North Korea would be embarrassed by' (Image supplied).

"When we could continue to talk about this, they decide to close the debate down. It's a move that even Kim Jong Un in North Korea would be embarrassed by. No one on this side of the chamber, believing in democracy, is going to partake in this shambles any more."

The amended motion, which calls for the government to review eligiblity criteria for winter fuel payments, was subsequently approved unanimously by the remaining councillors.

Following the government's decision, winter fuel payments of £200 or £300 can now only be claimed by pensioners who receive pension credit or other means-tested benefits.

The original Conservative motion to Thursday's full council meeting condemned the decision to end universal payments for all pensioners. Labour's amendment replaced the word 'condemns' with 'does not agree with', and also mentioned austerity cuts carried out under the previous Conservative government, as well as actions being taken by the council to support struggling residents.

During the debate, Conservatives repeatedly pointed out that Labour councillor David Williams – who was elected MP for Stoke-on-Trent North in July and voted in favour of the winter fuel policy in the House of Commons – had left the meeting prior to the motion coming up.

Labour councillors, meanwhile, accused the Tories of hypocrisy after they had previously supported welfare reform which had hit thousands of Stoke-on-Trent residents.

Cllr Daniela Santoro said she thought the new criteria was too strict (Image supplied).

Councillor Daniela Santoro, who proposed the Labour amendment, said that while she believed the previous universal payments were unfair and inefficient, she thought the new criteria were too strict. But she called the language in the original Tory motion 'unnecessarily harsh'.

She said: "Many pensioners find themselves just above the threshold for pension credit while relying solely on the state pension. These individuals while not qualifying for additional benefits are still struggling with rising living costs. For them, the loss of the winter fuel payments could be devastating."

Conservative councillor Dave Evans accused Cllr Williams of 'doing a runner' from the council chamber, which he said showed the winter fuel payment cut was 'not a defensible policy'.

He said: "The councillors opposite are not willing to stand up and defend pensioners, pensioners who are on as little as £14,000 a year. That is why this is such as deplorable policy."

Conservative councillor Ross Irving suggested that if Cllr Santoro thought the word 'comdemns' was unnecessarily harsh, she would not have liked the language used by his constituents to describe the policy.

Labour councillor Duncan Walker hit out at austerity measures imposed by the previous Conservative government, such as cuts to Personal Independent Payments.

He said: "The welfare reform policies of the Conservative government over the last 14 years have been an absolute disgrace. So on this side of the chamber, we will absolutely not tolerate any hypocrisy after what you have done to the most vulnerable people in our city."

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