STEPHEN Flynn has written to Anas Sarwar and Labour MPs urging them to “protect pensioners” and “defend Scotland’s Budget” ahead of a crunch vote in the House of Commons.
The SNP Westminster leader said in the letter the “Labour Government has broken its promises” to voters by imposing austerity cuts and increasing household energy bills, as he warned pensioners “will face a bitter winter” if cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment go ahead.
There will be a binding vote in the Commons on Tuesday on the Labour Government’s plan to axe the payment for all but the poorest pensioners.
Following the decision at Westminster, the Scottish Government said it had “no choice” but to restrict the payment north of the Border to “older people who receive relevant eligible benefits”.
Almost 30 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion from Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan calling for the Government to rethink making the Winter Fuel Payment means-tested including 11 Labour representatives.
In a BBC interview with Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer was confronted over the cuts, including by one Labour voter who said "I thought I might regret my vote within a year. I certainly didn't think I would regret it by the first decision made by the new government, to attack the pensioners".
During the interview, Kuenssberg asked "when it comes to cutting the winter fuel allowance, that is a choice. How can you justify it to viewers who feel like it is an attack on some people who have worked hard all their lives?”
In response, Starmer defended the cuts, leading Kuenssberg to say "nobody thought they were voting for you to take away their winter fuel allowance". In his letter to Sarwar and Scotland’s 37 Labour MPs, Flynn said: “During the UK General Election, the Labour Party promised voters in Scotland you would end austerity cuts and lower energy bills.
“Yet, within weeks, the Labour government has already broken its promises. Under Labour, energy bills are rising by 10% and the UK Government is imposing Tory austerity on steroids by slashing billions from public services.
“The Labour government doesn't need to wield the axe and make these cuts. It is a political choice, driven by your obsession with copying Tory fiscal rules. Up to 87% of pensioners in Scotland will lose out under Labour Government plans, including those on a low and modest income who are just above the pension credit threshold of £11,343 a year.
“This is not the 'change' people in Scotland were promised - and it breaks the personal pledge you made to voters during the election: ‘Read my lips: no austerity under Labour’.
“I urge you to do the right thing, protect Scottish pensioners and defend Scotland's budget by voting against Keir Starmer's Winter Fuel Payment cuts tomorrow.”
Research from the House of Commons Library shows more than 991,431 pensioners in Scotland received the payment in 2022-23.
There were 133,106 pensioners receiving pension credit or other means-tested benefits, meaning 87% will lose the payment.
To be eligible for Pension Credit, you must earn less than £11,343 a year - meaning thousands of pensioners on a low or modest income will be just above the threshold for the Winter Fuel Payment under the Labour Government's plans.
