SNP says heating payment will go to ‘every single Scottish pensioner’ from next year

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The Scottish government will reintroduce universal winter fuel payments for pensioners, in a bid to outstrip Labour ahead of the Holyrood elections.

Nearly a million pensioners will benefit from the SNP government’s mitigation after the Labour UK chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced her controversial policy to means test winter fuel payments for older people, which is believed to be partly responsible for Scottish Labour’s poll slump since the general election.