ANAS Sarwar faced a grilling from furious Gourock pensioners over Labour’s cut to the Winter Fuel Payment on Wednesday.
On a campaign visit to the Inverclyde seaside town ahead of a by-election, Sarwar came under fire from elderly people who are angry at his party’s decision to scrap universal entitlement to the benefit.
The Winter Fuel Payment gave all pensioners £200 to £300 to ensure they could heat their homes over the colder season but this will now be means-tested with only those on Pension Credit or other benefits receiving it going forward.
Earlier this week, Holyrood voted overwhelming against the cut with two Labour MSPs including a former party leader rebelling against Sarwar.
Asked by the Greenock Telegraph what he would say to Gourock pensioners affected by the decision, Scottish Labour leader Sarwar told them “bluntly” that “tough choices” have to be made.
He said: “To put it bluntly, we got rid of the cranks, and we’re picking up the damage left by the cranks.
“That’s going to mean tough choices and difficult decisions, but we’re going to do it in a way that’s about attracting investment, delivering growth, not returning to austerity, not thinking we could just squeeze those working people with even higher levels of taxation.”
Sarwar claimed his party were still ensuring there was more “money going into people’s pockets” insisting two-pensioner households' income “is going to have increased by almost £2600” by the time April arrives via the party’s commitment to the triple lock.
But Alba’s General Secretary Chris McEleny, who was a councillor in Gourock for a decade and is running in the by-election, said Sarwar (below) left “with a clear message” that pensioners in Gourock are angry after being “robbed of a vital payment”.
McEleny said Sarwar should apologise to pensioners in the town and stand up to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
He said: “Our campaign in Gourock to Save the Winter Fuel Payment is proving popular - and no wonder.
“A total of 12,500 pensioners in Gourock and Inverclyde are going to lose their Winter Fuel Payment because the UK Labour Government have chosen to target pensioners for cuts and the SNP Scottish Government so far feel they can’t afford to do anything other than pass those cuts on.
“Anas Sarwar left Gourock under no doubt that pensioners in Gourock are not happy that they gave his party their vote in July and have been punished for doing so.
“Mr Sarwar would do well to apologise to the pensioners of my town and stand up to Keir Starmer to force him to end this unnecessary assault on pensioners.”
Labour MP Martin McCluskey resigned as a councillor in the Inverclyde West ward after securing a seat in the Commons, sparking the by-election.
The election will be contested by Labour’s Ian Hellyer, the SNP’s Robert Kirkpatrick, Ted Runciman of the Tories and John Burleigh of Reform UK alongside McEleny.
