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.