Exclusive:Ian Murray clashes with SNP as Chancellor announces winter fuel allowance boost

As many as four ministers are reported to oppose plans being drawn up by Rachel Reeves ahead of the Spending Review, including Yvette Cooper, Ed Miliband and Angela Rayner.

Mr Doogan has written to Mr Murray urging him to join them, only for the minister to defend the Government’s record in his opening statement at Scottish questions in Westminster.

In a letter seen by The Scotsman, Mr Doogan wrote: “The raw reality of the damage that more austerity will do to our public services and our society has even stirred some of your cabinet colleagues to stand against the Chancellor’s cuts. There are numerous reports that a cabinet revolt is growing against the Chancellor’s austerity plans – including opposition from the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.

“As this Cabinet revolt continues, it has not gone unnoticed that your opposition to the Chancellor’s austerity is nowhere to be seen – instead you have chosen to remain completely silent.

“Unfortunately, that silence is no longer surprising. Ever since Anas Sarwar infamously told voters to ‘read my lips – no austerity under Labour’ – Labour figures in Scotland have given their full backing to a Prime Minister and Chancellor who have stripped pensioners of the winter fuel payments, are cutting support to the disabled and who have treated Scotland as afterthought.

“You have a clear choice in the coming days – find a backbone, join the cabinet revolt, and oppose the Chancellor’s cuts or choose to sit silent and break more election promises to the people of Scotland. If you aren’t prepared to stand up to the Chancellor to oppose more austerity cuts, then it is only natural that voters will conclude that they can never trust Scottish Labour to stand up for Scotland.”

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Murray issued an apology to MPs for misleading the House, revealing he had actually undersold the amount of money awarded to Scotland.

He said: “This is the first opportunity I've had to apologise to the House for using an inaccurate figure. I had told the House previously that the Scottish Government had received a record settlement of £47.7 billion this year but Treasury figures show the block grant for this year is actually £50 billion.

“That's the highest ever settlement in the history of devolution, with bells on. That's £50 billion, more money for schools, hospitals, policing and housing. It’s an end to austerity, that’s the Barnett Formula in action, the Barnett Formula that both the SNP and Reform have announced this week they want to scrap.”

Responding to Mr Doogan, a Labour source pointed out Mr Doogan was not in the Commons for Scotland questions.

They added: “Did he send a letter because he couldn’t be bothered showing up to his work?”

The spat came as the UK Government announced more pensioners will receive the winter fuel allowance this winter – but payments will not be universal.

Ms Reeves told reporters that “more people will get winter fuel payment this winter”, adding that further details will be announced “as soon as we possibly can”.

She said: “People should be in no doubt that the means test will increase and more people will get winter fuel payment this winter.”

Asked whether she would tell the public if she planned to fund her commitments by raising taxes or cutting spending on other departments, the Chancellor said: “As we have been clear, on winter fuel we will set out how we will fund that at the next fiscal event.

“We will set out how everything will be paid for at the budget in the autumn but it’s important that everything that we do is funded, because that’s how people know that we can afford it.”

Downing Street did not deny that details of how the winter fuel payment may be restored to more pensioners could come at next week’s spending review.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “As the Prime Minister has said, we will only take decisions that are affordable. He has made clear that we want to expand the number of pensioners who are eligible for the winter fuel payment.

“We will set out the details of that in due course. You have got the Chancellor’s words from this morning. You have got the PM’s words from earlier in the week that we want to set out that detail as soon as possible.”

On July 29 last year, the Government announced that from winter 2024, winter fuel payments would be dependent on receiving another means-tested benefit, as part of measures to fill a “black hole” in the public finances.

The decision to means-test the previously universal payment was one of the first announcements by Chancellor Rachel Reeves after Labour’s landslide election victory last year, and it has been widely blamed for the party’s collapse in support.

It meant the number of pensioners receiving the payment was reduced by around 10 million, from 11.4 million to 1.5 million.

The Government has insisted the policy was necessary to help stabilise the public finances, allowing the improvements in the economic picture which Sir Keir said could result in the partial reversal of the measure.

Meanwhile, pensions minister Torsten Bell told MPs that, while more pensioners will be eligible, there is no prospect of returning to universal winter fuel payments.