LABOUR’s “austerity 2.0” is set to go deeper than the Tories did, the Health Secretary has said.
It comes amid reports that Labour MPs are seeing their inboxes fill up with communications from “frightened” constituents raising concerns about the cut to the Winter Fuel Payment.
The i reported that one unnamed UK Government minister had highlighted the “level of anger” at the move – and said Chancellor Rachel Reeves was “going to have to show some flexibility”.
The payment had been available to everyone of pension age and was worth between £100 and £300 before Reeves took the decision to make it means-tested – leading to a £140-160 million cut to the Scottish Government budget and forcing them to also make the change.
Last Friday, energy watchdog Ofgem confirmed that the price cap on energy would rise by 10% to £1717 per year for an average household from October 1. Although this is lower than the £1834 price cap which was in place in 2023, the loss of the Winter Fuel Payment for many pensioners means they face paying out more from their own pockets.
Neil Gray, the Scottish Health Secretary who represents Airdrie and Shotts at Holyrood, said Keir Starmer’s Labour have “broken the ‘no austerity’ promise within weeks of the election”.
The SNP minister said: “At the General Election people voted Labour to get rid of the rotten Tory government and deliver change, instead we are getting short-changed.
“Labour’s choice to maintain austerity means pensioners are losing out on the Winter Fuel Payment and energy prices are due to rise by on average £150.
“The SNP have long warned that Labour’s choice to follow Tory spending plans – maintaining austerity – would cost households and these decisions highlight that a Labour UK Government is really no change at all.
“Austerity 2.0 will hurt folk even more than Rishi Sunak’s government did as Labour have gone further to deliver even deeper cuts, including cutting the Winter Fuel Payment for the first time.
“When we warned Labour cuts would be deeper than the Tories based on independent analysis, Anas Sarwar infamously told us to ‘read my lips’. Now we know we can’t trust a word they say as they’ve broken the ‘no austerity’ promise within weeks of the election.
“Where are the new Labour MPs that claimed they would fight Scotland’s corner?
“It is clearer than ever that only the SNP will stand up for Scotland and fight for investment in public services rather than Labour Tory austerity.”
The comments come after Graham Leadbitter, the SNP MP for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, told The Sunday National that people in his Highland constituency face a tougher winter under Labour than they did under the Tories.
On Monday, Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar reiterated his support for the UK Government’s decision to cut the Winter Fuel Payment for millions of pensioners, saying he did not believe it should be a universal benefit.
Sarwar drew criticism after also claiming that UK Government cuts were “not related” to cuts in Scotland.
