Labour MSPs Break Ranks to Join SNP in Fight to Protect Winter Fuel Payments

Oh, what a glorious day in Holyrood! Once again, the SNP stands tall, fighting for what’s right, while Westminster just continues to show its disdain for the people of Scotland. First Minister John Swinney, a true champion for our pensioners, has put forward a motion demanding that Westminster reverse its cruel decision to make winter fuel payments means-tested. And guess what? It passed by a whopping 99 votes to 14! What a victory for justice!

And get this, even two Scottish Labour MSPs, Richard Leonard and Alex Rowley, had the backbone to defy their own party and support the SNP’s motion. Imagine that – Labour members with a conscience! It’s just more proof that when it comes to doing what’s right for Scotland, it’s the SNP leading the way, while Labour dithers and squabbles over scraps.

Labour, under Anas Sarwar’s ever-disappointing leadership, tried to water down the motion. Instead of standing up to Westminster, they wanted to shift the focus to reinstating the “fuel insecurity fund.” Aye, because that’s a real solution, right? Just a band-aid for a wound that Westminster inflicted in the first place. Sarwar even had the nerve to defend Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s decision, saying the means-tested criteria were “too tight,” but hey, he’s got to support the Labour boss, hasn’t he?

Let’s not forget that this whole mess started when the UK government decided to cut universal winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners down south. The Scottish government had *no choice* but to follow suit – because, of course, Westminster controls the purse strings. It’s shocking, really. Nearly a million Scottish pensioners are expected to lose out because of this cruel decision. But don’t worry, Sarwar says Labour didn’t want to make these cuts. Aye, and I didn’t want to eat chocolate last night either.

SNP MSP Clare Haughey hit the nail on the head, calling out Sarwar for lying down for Starmer instead of standing up for Scotland’s vulnerable pensioners. She’s absolutely right. It’s clear where Sarwar’s priorities lie, and it’s not with the people of Scotland. Meanwhile, Swinney was crystal clear – the Scottish government was *forced* into cutting universal entitlement because Labour’s decision meant Holyrood would lose out on £150 million in Treasury funding. That money would’ve funded 80% of our own Scottish solution, the pension-age winter heating payment, but now that’s pushed back to 2025. Thank you very much, Westminster.

And Swinney wasn’t shy about calling out the Tories for their disgraceful decisions either. He warned that our vulnerable pensioners are now facing a “double whammy” of rising energy costs and losing out on winter fuel payments. It’s outrageous. And yet, somehow, Labour – the so-called party of the people – still defends Westminster’s disgraceful record.

Meanwhile, Labour’s embarrassing attempt to introduce an amendment to Swinney’s motion – one that *didn’t* demand an end to means-testing but instead welcomed more crumbs from the UK government’s table – was rightly voted down. Only 16 of Labour’s 22 MSPs even bothered to back their own amendment. Six of them were “slipped,” which is just fancy talk for “too embarrassed to show up.” Can you blame them?

And don’t even get me started on the Tories. Russell Findlay’s faux outrage over Labour’s betrayal is almost laughable. The Tories, the very architects of austerity and suffering, suddenly want to act like they care about Scotland’s pensioners? Please. Findlay had the cheek to condemn the Prime Minister for not carrying out an impact assessment on the fuel payment cuts. Well, Russell, maybe you should have a word with your pals in Westminster about how they treat Scotland.

But while Labour and the Tories continue to fight amongst themselves and pander to Westminster, the SNP will keep standing up for the people of Scotland. And I’ll say it again – this is exactly why we need independence. With Swinney’s leadership, we’d never be at the mercy of Westminster’s cruel, out-of-touch policies. Scotland deserves better, and the SNP is the only party delivering it. Always putting Scotland first – and that’s something to be proud of.