Keir Starmer’s fuel bill axe is helping the SNP
It has already been a cold start to the winter in Scotland with temperatures regularly hovering at just above zero.
That means households are regularly turning on the heating and counting the likely cost of their next fuel bill.
Many older Scots had come to rely on the annual Winter Fuel Payment which helped offset part of their heating costs.
But the UK Government’s decision to means-test means around 900,000 people in Scotland are now going without it this winter.
The political fall-out from that decision by Chancellor Rachel Reeves is ongoing.
Labour in Scotland have already committed to extending eligibility for a replacement benefit if they take power at Holyrood in 2026.
But the damage to the party north of the Border can already be detected in falling poll numbers.
The most recent survey of voting intentions suggests John Swinney could be on course to lead another minority SNP Government.
Tellingly, it is among older voters that the SNP are gaining ground again – no doubt due to the winter fuel debacle.
Given the rough couple of years the Nationalists have endured, the polling represents an incredible turnaround in fortunes.
There is still another 18 months before the next Holyrood election, so nothing can be taken for granted.
But Labour in Scotland now look vulnerable as a result of unpopular decisions taken by Keir Starmer in London.
The party must now come good on its pre-election pledges or risk seeing the SNP continuing its climb back up the polls.
The next Holyrood election could become a referendum on what Scots really think about Starmer’s government.
It’s a vote Labour could lose unless they turn things around – and fast.
Time to conclude Branchform probe
When Police Scotland launched its initial investigation into SNP finances back in July 2021, most of the country was too consumed by the coronavirus pandemic to notice.
Operation Branchform only entered the public consciousness in April 2023 following the initial arrest of Peter Murrell, the former SNP chief executive, and the search of the house he shared with Nicola Sturgeon.
The former SNP leader was later questioned herself in June 2023 before being released without charge, pending further investigations.
As 2024 draws to a close, the investigation is still ongoing and Sturgeon herself is quoted in today’s Daily Record saying she has no idea where it is heading.
Sturgeon has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Murrell has been rearrested and a report sent to the Procurator Fiscal, with no decision yet made on whether he will stand trial.
While the police must be free to investigate as they see fit, Operation Branchform requires an end point.
Scottish political life cannot move on until there is a conclusion.