An SNP Cabinet minister has denied the Scottish Government’s decision-making process over the Winter Fuel Payment was like The Thick of It. Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the political comedy had “absolutely nothing to do with last week”.
It comes after The Times reported the decision to partly reinstate the benefit next year followed “feverish” activity behind the scenes. It came after Scottish Labour had put pressure on the SNP after laying down a motion to force the Scottish Government to introduce a payment.
One source told The Times it was “proper The Thick of It stuff”. This was in reference to the popular comedy series which parodies chaos in the last Labour government. It was written by Glaswegian Armando Ianucci and starred Peter Capaldi.
The Record revealed last week that the SNP plans to give all Scots some form of Winter Fuel Payment next year. This followed the UK Labour Government making only those on Pension Credit eligible for the benefit.
When asked if what she saw last week was like The Thick of It, Somerville told BBC Scotland’s The Sunday Show: “Funnily enough, no. I am a great fan of The Thick of It but that is absolutely nothing to do with last week.
“What we saw was the First Minister many, many weeks ago saying we were actively considering what to do with the Winter Fuel Payment. What we saw was the Scottish Government bringing forward something to the Scottish Parliament to reinstate the Winter Fuel Payment and Labour voting against it.
“And then a couple of weeks ago, when we had that first really cold snap, Anas Sarwar seemed to suggest they needed a press release that day, then they made up the policy afterwards. So no, this has been going on for many weeks.”
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