Scottish Labour losing most support to SNP among voters aged over-55

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scottish Labour is losing most support to the SNP among the over-55s following a backlash over the Winter Fuel Payment, polling has found.A survey by Norstat conducted in the aftermath of the Scottish Budget showed a sharp decline in support for Anas Sawar's party.

Analysis has since found the biggest change in Holyrood voting intentions has been among older voters.The poll shows a Labour to SNP swing of 12 per cent among men over 55 and 15 per cent among women over 55 – with only 12 per cent of men over 55 and 14 per cent of women over 55 thinking Keir Starmer is doing a good job as Prime Minister.The poll found Labour support has declined to 21 per cent - even lower than the 22 per cent recorded at the 2021 Holyrood election in which the party finished third.The UK Government has faced a backlash since it announced in July the Winter Fuel Payment would become means-tested.Scottish Labour has since pledged to expand the eligibility criteria for older Scots if it wins power at Holyrood in 2026.But the SNP Government then announced last month that Scots in receipt of qualifying benefits like Pension Credit would get £200 or £300 depending on their age, while all others would get £100.The funds - which are limited to one payment per household - will be paid through a new Scottish benefit, which will not be ready until late 2025.SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson said: "Keir Starmer’s decision to cut the Winter Fuel Payment will go down as one of the biggest political mistakes for generations – and Anas Sarwar’s confused stance has shown an extraordinary lack of leadership."It is no wonder then that older people in Scotland are turning away from Labour in such large numbers as the impact of that betrayal begins to bite and temperatures