Households across Scotland are facing a double threat this winter, with Labour’s cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment coinciding with a severe snowstorm forecast next week, a move the SNP has warned will leave Scots in an even more precarious position as temperatures drop.
The SNP is sounding the alarm after Labour’s recent budget decision, backed by Scottish Labour MPs, slashed winter fuel payments, depriving 900,000 Scottish pensioners of essential heating support amid soaring energy bills.
The typical household energy bill has jumped by £149, piling additional strain on Scots bracing for a week of heavy snow, with experts predicting dangerously cold conditions.
Dave Doogan MP, the SNP’s economy spokesperson, is calling on the Labour government to reverse the Winter Fuel Payment cuts and urgently implement a social tariff for energy bills, ensuring support for the most vulnerable.
Doogan has also demanded a concrete timeline from Labour on their election pledge to reduce energy bills by £300 annually, a promise made by Sir Keir Starmer but yet to materialise as energy costs continue to climb.
Starmer had previously assured voters that a Labour government would tackle the root causes of the cost-of-living crisis, with plans to save families up to £300 on energy.
Instead, since Labour took office, energy costs have surged by 10 percent, with the typical household bill increasing to £1,717.
Adding fuel to the fire, Labour MPs recently blocked an SNP amendment to the GB Energy Bill, which would have compelled the UK government to cut energy costs by £300.
In the face of these challenges, Doogan has urged Labour to take immediate action to protect Scots as winter looms.
He emphasised that the combination of rising bills and freezing weather means pensioners and families across Scotland will be forced to make tough choices between heating and eating.
“As the gritters start hitting Scotland’s roads, it’s a scandal that energy-rich Scotland is facing the highest heating bills in the UK,” Doogan stated, calling it a “bleak winter” under Labour’s watch.
Labour MPs from Scotland, he argued, “skipped through the voting lobbies” to vote for these cuts, leaving Scots to fend off rising costs in freezing conditions.
Doogan reiterated that Scots deserve a government willing to support them, not one that raises costs during the most challenging months of the year.
As snow clouds gather, it’s clear that without a strong package of support from Labour, including reversing the cuts, introducing a social tariff, and finally delivering on their £300 pledge, many Scots may face one of the most difficult winters in recent memory.
