SCOTTISH Labour are losing members over the decision to cut the universal Winter Fuel Payment, according to reports.
According to the Daily Record, party insiders said members have quit in anger over the decision they feared could unfairly impact pensioners.
Starmer previously said the “challenging” decision was needed to plug a £22 billion black hole left by the Tories while MP Michael Shanks (below) admitted his constituents were unhappy with the decision.
Following the announcement, the Scottish Government also said it had been left with “no choice” but to end universal fuel payments in Scotland.
One Scottish Labour insider told the Record: “Members are angry and feel let down. Rushing to remove the winter heating payment from pensioners who need it is a terrible mistake.
“Without a rethink we could see many more loyal members quitting this winter.”
A spokesperson for Scottish Labour said: “Scotland needs change – and the people of Scotland are turning to Scottish Labour to deliver it.
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“That’s why Scottish Labour won the election in Scotland and that is why we are ready to take the fight to the SNP in 2026.”
We previously told how Scottish Labour MP Kirsteen Sullivan faced criticism for her statement on why she voted for the cut in England and Wales.
SNP MSP Clare Haughey said the party’s decision to end the universal Winter Fuel Payment was a “blatant betrayal” of promises made during the election campaign.
“Sir Keir Starmer’s honeymoon period must be the shortest of any Prime Minister’s in recent times – and it seems Labour members are now the latest to desert his sinking ship,” she said.
READ MORE: Justice for pensioners is about more than party politics
Elsewhere, Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman commented: “Many Labour members have waited 14 years to have their party in power, only to see them inflicting the same kind of cruel cuts and austerity as the Tories.
“No wonder some of them are feeling let down and betrayed. The cut to winter fuel payments was not in the Labour manifesto, and yet almost every single one of their MPs backed it.”
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