THERESA MAY’s Tories risked uproar yesterday after insisting Scots should keep the winter fuel allowance – because it’s COLDER.
Just one day after telling English and Welsh pensioners the benefit was going to be scrapped, the Tories told Scottish OAPS they would protect their cash.
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The revelations of more cash for Scots sparked fury in some quarters as well as allegations of buying votesCredit: Getty Images
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Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson today said that the Conservatives will not seek to cut the winter fuel allowance north of the borderCredit: Alamy
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Average minimum temperatures across Britain last winterCredit: Crown Copyright
Some £200 million a year is spent on the handout north of the border to help nearly a million pensioners heat their homes – regardless of their wealth.
The revelation came as the Prime Minister teamed up with Scots Tory leader Ruth Davidson to launch the Scottish Conservative manifesto in Edinburgh.
Defending the completely different campaign messages, Ms Davidson said: “Scotland has a colder climate”. She added: “Those are the sort of decisions that you can make in government – that’s what politics is about.”
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Theresa May denied that the decision was hypocriticalCredit: Getty Images
Labour and the Lib Dems accused the Prime Minister of taking English taxpayers for granted – and trying to “buy” Scottish votes.
The row came as the Conservatives endured one of the toughest days of the entire General Election campaign.
Two Tory candidates, Sarah Woolaston and Bob Blackman, criticised the PM’s flagship decision to rip up plans for a cap on social care costs.
On Thursday Mrs May said winter fuel payments of as much as £300 a year would be means-tested to help pour an extra £2 billion into the NHS and social care in England and Wales.
She boasted the decision proved the Government could make “hard choices”.
The Scottish Conservative position is unlikely to make any difference in Scotland given the ruling SNP party has already vowed to keep the payments – and will gain control of the handouts under devolution before 2020.
But Labour insiders accused of Theresa May of giving Scottish voters a “bung”.
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The PM had already yesterday vowed to use a post-Brexit prosperity fund to boost communities across Scotland, Wales and the north of England.
She pledged to “take back control” of £9 billion of UK contributions that Brussels invests back in projects in the UK over a six year period.
Mrs May said the scheme was another reason why Scottish voters should back her and stay in the “cherished” union.
Challenged about winter fuel payments for the Scots yesterday, Theresa May said: “Well, we have devolution in the United Kingdom.”
Lib Dem chief Tim Farron said: “The Tories are utter hypocrites.
“How can they can take cash off English pensioners and then give it to Scottish pensioners. It looks like a cheap Election bung and it won’t wash.”
He added: “Theresa May and her ministers are just taking pensioners and their votes for granted. They don’t seem to care about them.”
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David Mundell, pictured with Ms Davidson at the manifesto launch, also defended the decisionCredit: Getty Images
Andrew Gwynne, Labour’s election coordinator, said: “When the Scottish Tory leader comes out against her own party’s attack on pensioner incomes I think it’s fair to say the policy is starting to unravel.
“The Tory attack on pensioners’ winter fuel allowance is unfair and outrageous, and lays bare the threat they pose to pensioners’ security and living standards.”
Scottish Secretary David Mundell had given a clue about what was coming yesterday with an interview in The Herald in Scotland.
He said: “The specific view in relation to Scotland is that obviously we have different climatic issues.
“And we have a different geography and there are far more people off-grid, who receive their fuel from not the gas or electricity grid but in terms of liquid gas for example.
“There is a different backdrop in relation to both winter and fuel and that’s why we believe in the Scottish Conservatives it should continue as a universal benefit.”
Mr Mundell is the sole Tory MP in Scotland and defending a majority of just 798 votes in Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale constituency.
The Tories believe they can win as many as five seats in Scotland on June 8 from the SNP – which has 54 MPs.
The social care revolution was at the centre of the Tory manifesto launch on Thursday. Theresa May revealed that instead of a cap in care costs, the Tories would put a “floor” in place to protect pensioners’ last £100,000.
Critics said this meant those in long-term care could face mammoth bills.
Sarah Woolaston yesterday warned that without a cap, pensioners would be left with a “lottery”. She said: “A future government should at least look again at supporting state-backed insurance for those who have not yet reached retirement age, so that they can begin to protect against this.”
Winter fuel payments range from £100 to £300 to anyone born before 9 May 1953.
Ex-Chancellor George Osborne scrapped the handouts for ex pats living in Gibraltar, Portugal or Spain before of the warmer temperate.
Former Labour leader Ed Miliband yesterday said the "nasty party is well and truly back".
Referring to the social care row he said: "The Tory manifesto has unraveled in the last 24 hours in a way that I can rarely remember manifestos unravelling before."
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