Scottish Labour are set for a New Year showdown with Keir Starmer over his Government’s Winter Fuel Payment cuts. A motion calling for the mean-test to be scrapped will be voted on at the Scottish party’s conference in February.
An insider predicted members will back a motion jointly tabled by Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie’s local party.
Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves has suffered a backlash after stripping the payment from around ten million older people, including nearly 900,000 in Scotland. Only senior citizens in receipt of pension credit or other benefits will be able to receive a sum worth hundreds of pounds.
With the benefit soon to be fully devolved to Holyrood, the SNP Government initially followed suit but they used the recent Holyrood Budget to reintroduce payments for all pensioners.
Reeves’ decision also angered senior Scottish Labour figures who believe taking money away from older people will damage their chances at the Holyrood election in 2026. A joint motion by the Unite trade union and the Dumbarton constituency party will be debated at Scottish Labour’s conference in Glasgow.
The statement, which originated from the party’s recent women’s conference, expresses concern that linking WFP to Pension Credit could have a “disproportionate impact” on women and adds: “Conference notes that polling conducted after the announcement of the scrapping of the winter fuel payment has exposed widespread concern and opposition from voters.”
It urges the UK and Scottish Governments to “reverse the decision to apply means-testing” by limiting the payments to people on Pension Credit. With SNP Ministers now set to re-introduce universal payments, the motion is only relevant to the actions of the Labour Government.
A party source said Baillie was angered by the Reeves decision and the impact on older people and Scottish Labour. A key part of Baillie’s local coalition in the Dumbarton seat, which she has held since 1999, has been the pensioner vote.
Party leader Anas Sarwar has also committed a Scottish Labour Government to overturning the Reeves policy. He has promised to make the payment universal but then claw back the money from wealthier people.
Sarwar was also unhappy at the Labour Government’s decision not to fund compensation for the so-called Waspi women hit by changes to their state pension age.
A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “A Scottish Labour government at Holyrood is committed to the reinstatement of the Winter Fuel Payment and using Scotland’s devolved powers to deliver a fairer system so that everyone in need of help gets the support they need.”
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