Notebook by Bill Heaney

Winter Fuel. These words themselves conjure up pictures in the mind of families sitting comfortably around the fire in warm homes come Christmastime.

That’s what they were promised after all by the incoming Labour government. That and the odd extra present sitting under the Christmas tree plus the possibility of a turkey for dinner thanks to the Two Child Benefit Cap being lifted.

Politicians and promises. These days they seldom go together. They never did.

The truth of what’s most likely to be happening is that pensioners will be sitting in cold houses, huddled together on the couch with a blanket over their knees trying to keep warm. Or else they will go back to bed to keep the cold out there.

What does Cancellor Rachel Reeves know about pensioner poverty?

Politicians like nothing better than ripping other politicians apart when they haven’t kept promises such as these, but they have short memories.

Provost Douglas McAllister made promises that Labour failed to keep.

Especially when it comes to the promises they themselves haven’t kept. Like our now thankfully departed Provost Douglas McAllister who has gone onto be the MP for West Dunbartonshire.

The Provost’s election material for the local government elections consisted of a list of promises that would never be kept by him and his Labour “colleagues”.

At least the ones who claimed to be similarly committed on budget cuts such as grass cutting but were never on the same wavelength.

The Labour council in Church Street is now a busted flush with an SNP provost and electors in three wards deprived of the services of the people they voted for.

“Does the First Minister share my view that Labour’s brutal cutting of winter fuel payments is not only an attack on older people but an attack on devolution, because the Chancellor of the Exchequer [Rachel Reeves, left] showed no interest whatever in consulting the Scottish Government ahead of her decision?”

Kevin Stewart sat there like a cat that got the cream when Mr Swinney told the chamber that his colleague “makes an absolutely valid point about the impact of the winter fuel payment cut.

“There will be pensioners who are not in an affluent position and who will be suffering significantly as a consequence of the cut.

“There was a commitment from the incoming Labour Government to reduce fuel bills by an average of £300. In fact, people will see their fuel bills increase by an average of £149, which will compound the damage that will be done to those pensioners.

“I do not underestimate the scale of the difficulty. If there was an alternative, I would have liked to have taken it, but Mr Stewart will appreciate, from his experience in Government, that I cannot, as much as I would like, find £160 million to enable us to continue that payment on a universal basis.”

He summed up his  “it wisnae us” views on the devolution situation thus: “On the intergovernmental relations question, I accept that decisions get taken abruptly by Governments.

“Sometimes, my Government has to do that, too. I encourage the United Kingdom Government to engage in deeper dialogue with the Scottish Government as we try to resolve the very difficult circumstances that we all face.”

Paper hankies all round then?