Labour should apologise to South Lanarkshire pensioners who lost Winter Fuel Payment

Katy Loudon, the SNP’s candidate in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, has called on the Labour candidate to apologise to pensioners in the constituency after the Daily Record revealed that 36,057 pensioners in South Lanarkshire lost out last year because of Labour’s cut to the benefit.

When Labour entered government last July, one of the first decisions made by Keir Starmer was to cut the Winter Fuel Payment, withdrawing vital support from 900,000 Scottish pensioners.

This decision was endorsed by both Scottish Labour MPs in September 2024, and by leading Scottish Labour MSPs in October 2024 – despite pretending in this by-election they are against the cut!

Katy Loudon described Scottish Labour’s position as having some “brass neck” pretending it was not their decision that resulted in tens of thousands of pensioners losing this vital support.

In contrast the SNP government is reinstating this payment with support worth at least £100 going to all pensioners from this year.

Highlighting how a vote for the SNP would send a message to Labour about cutting the Winter Fuel Payment, Katy Loudon said:

“The sheer brass neck of Scottish Labour is astonishing.

“Again and again they have let Scotland down; treating the people of Scotland as nothing more than an afterthought and now indulging in a staggering level of political spin to escape responsibility for one of Labour’s first acts in office – cutting the Winter Fuel Payment.”

Councillor Loudon added that the Labour party had failed pensioners in South Lanarkshire and across Scotland; and it was the SNP government stepping in to reinstate universal support for pensioners.

She concluded by saying, “David Russell should be ashamed to stand on a platform built on broken promises and must apologise to the tens of thousands who had vital support taken away by this UK Labour government.”