DEPUTY First Minister Kate Forbes has angrily hit out at the Labour government and Labour MPs for "driving a coach and horses through the devolution settlement" over Chancellor Rachel Reeves decision to axe the universal Winter Fuel Payment to pensioners – without consulting with the Scottish Government.
The benefit was set to be devolved to Holyrood, but Keir Starmer’s government gave their Scottish counterparts no advance notice of plans to axe the universal payment in England and Wales, despite the catastrophic effect this had on Barnett consequentials and the money available to Holyrood to cover the cost of the payment in Scotland.
At a stroke of the Chancellor's pen the Scottish Government was staring at an unplanned and unexpected shortfall of £160 million.
Unlike Reeves, who has made a political choice to penalise both pensioners and children subject to the two-child cap on benefits, the Scottish Parliament does not have the full range of tax and borrowing powers at its disposal.
Reeves could have increased taxes on the super rich, but she chose not to do so. Instead her "tough choice" to protect the wealth of the rich is being passed on to Scotland, where pensioners will be forced to make the real tough choice of switching on an extra bar on the fire in the depths of winter or wrapping themselves in blankets in their freezing cold homes and risking burst pipes because the house is not heated.
But hey, the hooray Henries will still be able to afford extra horse-riding lessons and a winter ski holiday in Gstaad, and that is what is really important here.
On Wednesday, the Scottish Government said it had been left with "no choice" and was forced to make the payments means-tested after Labour's cuts.
An angry Deputy First Minister said that “the Chancellor announced this cut to the Winter Fuel Payment just weeks before the Scottish Parliament is due to take on responsibility for the payment – and without any consultation with the Scottish Government”.
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She said: “Devolving a policy weeks after cutting its budget by almost 90% is disrespectful to everybody involved in shaping the new Scottish policy.
“Not only does it drive a coach and horses through the devolution settlement, it ignores the disproportionate importance of this payment to households in Scotland, who face harsher winters and higher fuel costs.
“Given we are already facing the most challenging financial circumstances in the history of the Scottish Parliament, Scotland has no choice but to bear the brunt of Labour’s cut to the Winter Fuel Payment.”
She added: “There is an eerie silence from Labour politicians north of the Border, who would have been the first and loudest to condemn the Scottish Government if the roles were reversed.
“It is particularly galling to hear no condemnation from Labour MPs who represent areas with the highest proportion of fuel poverty.
“This is their first test, and as we feared, they have put party before country – despite promising otherwise during the election.”
The manner in which this cut is being imposed on Scotland is particularly galling given that prior to the General Election Starmer had promised to "reset" the relationship between Westminster and the devolved governments. But at the very first opportunity to prove that he meant it, Starmer’s government behaved in the same high-handed and patrician manner we got used to under the Tories.
Reeves's decision has been widely condemned by charities who point out that thousands of pensioners on low incomes will suffer as a result.
Adam Stachura, policy director at Age Scotland, said: “This brutal decision by the UK Government was made too fast, cuts too deep and its impact will be severe.
“It’s important that they rethink this move, as it has a huge impact on the devolution of social security and the needs of Scottish pensioners who live in some of the coldest homes in the UK.”
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This is a deliberate choice by a Labour party which cynically promised change when it was campaigning for power, but the second it won that power continued the same depressing pattern of protecting the wealth and interests of the rich while telling us that it was making "tough choices”.
It's funny how those tough choices never seem to entail financially penalising those who already have more than enough.
And from the Labour party in Scotland there's nothing but Anas “Read-My-Lips-No-Austerity” Sarwar trying to blame the SNP for a decision taken by his own party.
Labour wants power but can't handle responsibility.
This piece is an extract from today’s REAL Scottish Politics newsletter, which is emailed out at 7pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from the Wee Ginger Dug.
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