SNP urge Labour to abandon disability cuts after winter fuel U-turn
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said on Monday that nine million pensioners in England and Wales will be in receipt of the payment this year after a cut was announced in the first weeks of the Labour Government last summer.
The initial decision was met with heavy backlash and forced the Scottish Government to delay the implementation of its own devolved benefit.
John Swinney's administration later announced a similar payment for pensioners which would be tapered and see those on the highest incomes receiving £100, compared to £305.10 for those on the least.
Monday's announcement will result in cash being sent to the devolved administration at Holyrood.
But now, the SNP have pushed for a different approach on welfare reform, after the UK Government also announced a £5 billion cut to benefits earlier this year.
'The Chancellor must now abandon her devastating cuts to disabled people – and scrap the two-child benefit cap,' SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said.
'This screeching U-turn was inevitable and lessons must be learnt from the damaging mess the Labour Government caused by robbing pensioners of their winter fuel payments.'
He added: 'It must be swiftly followed by an end to all Labour Party austerity cuts – scrapping the planned cuts to disability benefits and abolishing punitive welfare policies, including the Labour Government's two-child benefit cap and bedroom tax.
'At the spending review on Wednesday, the Labour Government must end its austerity cuts for good – and not impose even more cuts to families and public services.'
Scottish Greens social security spokesperson Maggie Chapman, meanwhile, said: 'Cutting the Winter Fuel Payment was one of the first acts of this Labour government. Elected on a promise of 'change' they brought in sweeping austerity that harmed older people across the UK at a time when the cost of living remains sky high.
The MSP added: 'There is no doubt that the damage has already been done, families will have lost loved ones, and illnesses will have been caused over the winter months because of the brutal decision by Rachel Reeves and the Labour Government.
'Labour's cutting of the Winter Fuel Payment, refusal to end the two-child benefit cap and regressive austerity measures are forcing people into poverty in Scotland and across the UK.'
Chapman went on: "The reinstatement of the Winter Fuel Payment for some is a welcome move, but we must go further, the Labour government must end the two-child benefit cap which hits working class families the hardest, and they must reverse their cruel austerity policies.
'Poverty isn't inevitable; it's a political policy, a policy which Rachel Reeves has forced upon hundreds of thousands of people across the UK. If Keir Starmer has any shame, he would finally call an end to her disastrous time as Chancellor.'
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BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
'It will make a lot of difference': Reactions to winter fuel payment U-turn
More than three-quarters of pensioners will receive the winter fuel payment this year after a major policy decision from Chancellor Rachel Reeves means nine million pensioners in England and Wales with an annual income of £35,000 or less will now be have spoken to us or contacted the BBC through Your Voice, Your BBC News about how the change of plan will affect them. 'Payment was taken away without warning' Bob Pritchard, 78, from Bath, told the BBC he earns £19,500 a year and believes he will now have his allowance reinstated."It will make a lot of difference. I've got various health issues and have to travel to hospital by taxi. I can't really afford to do it. The winter fuel payment was more or less taken away without warning," he said,Despite being happy about the government's U-turn, Bob believes he should be compensated for how he struggled when his winter fuel payment was taken away last year."The least they could do is offer some small compensation for all the grief and heartache that the initial decision to stop winter fuel payments has caused," he said. 'I give my winter fuel payment to charity' Alice George, 71, from Watford says she is "appalled" by Reeves' decision and gives her own winter fuel payment to charity."I know people who put the money towards a holiday," she said."I constantly meet pensioners who live very comfortably. I go to the cinema and the theatre regularly and they are packed with my ilk, most of whom don't need this money."Alice thinks its unfair that some young people earning less than £30,000 are expected to pay what she calls "extortionate rent and travel expenses".She thinks the winter fuel payment money should be put towards the NHS or tackling the housing crisis. 'I'm more than happy not to receive the payment' Ian Bryant, from Nailsworth in Gloucestershire, is pleased with the government's earns more than £35,000 as a pensioner so will not be receiving the payment himself but is happy for the others who will."It wasn't ideal when the payment was removed last year, as it impacted on many of those on the lowest income although I understand why it was done. A more considered approach would have been better," he said."I'm 68 and still have a mortgage. I go away a couple of times a year - nothing five star - have an old car, but manage fine. I'm more than happy not to receive the payment." 'Last year I turned off all the heating' Gail Impey, 71, a finance manager from Buckinghamshire, will miss out on the payment as her income is just over £35, said she struggled last year when her winter fuel payment was taken away."I turned off all the heating and used all my saved up logs in my log burner," she husband died in 2021, which meant she could no longer retire as she said she could not afford to stop working."Luckily at 71 I am fit enough to work but I do not have a good quality of life. It's just me and the dog. Everything is so expensive, I have to make every penny count," she added: "I earn just over the threshold but I'm taxed on that. I have paid in all my life and it seems I am missing out again. This is not fair and being on my own I have to work harder than ever." 'I didn't miss the winter fuel payment' Mike Hodges, 72, says he did not miss the winter fuel payment when he stopped receiving says his income is above the £35,000 threshold but below £40,000."The threshold could be a lot lower so money can be spent on much more pressing priorities."He thinks the money spent on the fuel payments should go to initiatives for younger people instead. Additional reporting by Kris Bramwell and Alex Emery Get our flagship newsletter with all the headlines you need to start the day. Sign up here.
The Herald Scotland
28 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
North missed £140bn of transport investment during last government
It reached the figure, which it said was enough to build seven Elizabeth Lines, by considering the amount of spending per person across the different English regions over that period. While England as a whole saw £592 spent per person each year, London received double that amount with £1,183 spent per person, the IPPR said. The entire North region saw £486 spent per person, with the North East and North West seeing £430 and £540 spent per person respectively. This amounted to £140 billion of missed investment for the North, more than the entire £83 billion estimate of capital spending on transport in the region since 1999/2000, according to the analysis. The region with the lowest amount of investment over the period was the East Midlands with just £355 spent per person. Among the most divisive transport investment projects for the previous government was the HS2 rail project, which was axed north of Birmingham in October 2023. Then-prime minister Rishi Sunak pledged to 'reinvest every single penny, £36 billion, in hundreds of new transport projects in the North and the Midlands', including improvements to road, rail and bus schemes. Earlier this week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a £15.6 billion package for mayoral authorities to use on public transport projects across the North and Midlands ahead of the spending review. It is expected to include funding to extend the metros in Tyne and Wear, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, along with a renewed tram network in South Yorkshire and a new mass transit system in West Yorkshire. Rachel Reeves has set out plans for new transport investment in the North and Midlands (Peter Byrne/PA) Marcus Johns, senior research fellow at IPPR North, said: 'Today's figures are concrete proof that promises made to the North over the last decade were hollow. It was a decade of deceit. 'We are 124 years on from the end of Queen Victoria's reign, yet the North is still running on infrastructure built during her rein – while our transport chasm widens. 'This isn't London bashing – Londoners absolutely deserve investment. But £1,182 per person for London and £486 for northerners? The numbers don't lie – this isn't right. 'This Government have begun to restore fairness with their big bet on transport cash for city leaders. 'They should continue on this journey to close this investment gap in the upcoming spending review and decades ahead.' Former Treasury minister Lord Jim O'Neill said: 'Good governance requires the guts to take a long-term approach, not just quick fixes. So the Chancellor is right in her focus on the UK's long-standing supply-side weaknesses – namely our woeful productivity and weak private and public investment. 'Backing major infrastructure is the right call, and this spending review is the right time for the Chancellor to place a big bet on northern growth and begin to close this investment chasm. 'But it's going to take more than commitments alone – she'll need to set out a transparent framework for delivery.' Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: 'For too long, the North of England has been treated as a poor relation to the South when it comes to government spending on transport infrastructure, and this analysis makes stark reading – exposing the vast scale of underfunding over many years. 'The Chancellor's announcement of £2.5 billion funding for transport in Greater Manchester will be a game-changer for our city-region, enabling us to expand the Bee Network, and deliver the UK's first, zero emission, integrated, public transport system by 2030. 'We have also made the case for a new Liverpool-Manchester railway, which would further rebalance infrastructure investment, and could boost the UK economy by £90 billion by 2040.'
South Wales Argus
30 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
North missed £140bn of transport investment during last government
Independent analysis by think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) looked at Treasury figures between 2009/10 and 2022/23, during which time the Conservatives were in power. It reached the figure, which it said was enough to build seven Elizabeth Lines, by considering the amount of spending per person across the different English regions over that period. While England as a whole saw £592 spent per person each year, London received double that amount with £1,183 spent per person, the IPPR said. The entire North region saw £486 spent per person, with the North East and North West seeing £430 and £540 spent per person respectively. This amounted to £140 billion of missed investment for the North, more than the entire £83 billion estimate of capital spending on transport in the region since 1999/2000, according to the analysis. The region with the lowest amount of investment over the period was the East Midlands with just £355 spent per person. Among the most divisive transport investment projects for the previous government was the HS2 rail project, which was axed north of Birmingham in October 2023. Then-prime minister Rishi Sunak pledged to 'reinvest every single penny, £36 billion, in hundreds of new transport projects in the North and the Midlands', including improvements to road, rail and bus schemes. Earlier this week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a £15.6 billion package for mayoral authorities to use on public transport projects across the North and Midlands ahead of the spending review. It is expected to include funding to extend the metros in Tyne and Wear, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, along with a renewed tram network in South Yorkshire and a new mass transit system in West Yorkshire. Rachel Reeves has set out plans for new transport investment in the North and Midlands (Peter Byrne/PA) Marcus Johns, senior research fellow at IPPR North, said: 'Today's figures are concrete proof that promises made to the North over the last decade were hollow. It was a decade of deceit. 'We are 124 years on from the end of Queen Victoria's reign, yet the North is still running on infrastructure built during her rein – while our transport chasm widens. 'This isn't London bashing – Londoners absolutely deserve investment. But £1,182 per person for London and £486 for northerners? The numbers don't lie – this isn't right. 'This Government have begun to restore fairness with their big bet on transport cash for city leaders. 'They should continue on this journey to close this investment gap in the upcoming spending review and decades ahead.' Former Treasury minister Lord Jim O'Neill said: 'Good governance requires the guts to take a long-term approach, not just quick fixes. So the Chancellor is right in her focus on the UK's long-standing supply-side weaknesses – namely our woeful productivity and weak private and public investment. 'Backing major infrastructure is the right call, and this spending review is the right time for the Chancellor to place a big bet on northern growth and begin to close this investment chasm. 'But it's going to take more than commitments alone – she'll need to set out a transparent framework for delivery.' Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: 'For too long, the North of England has been treated as a poor relation to the South when it comes to government spending on transport infrastructure, and this analysis makes stark reading – exposing the vast scale of underfunding over many years. 'The Chancellor's announcement of £2.5 billion funding for transport in Greater Manchester will be a game-changer for our city-region, enabling us to expand the Bee Network, and deliver the UK's first, zero emission, integrated, public transport system by 2030. 'We have also made the case for a new Liverpool-Manchester railway, which would further rebalance infrastructure investment, and could boost the UK economy by £90 billion by 2040.'
