• DIY heating: More than nine in ten Scots using alternatives to central heating this winter
• Cole-Hamilton: UK must stand strong against Putin three years on from illegal invasion
• Labour should ditch plans for health “superboards”
• Crown Estate Bill – Labour treating Wales with contempt

DIY heating: More than nine in ten Scots using alternatives to central heating this winter

• Scots who are worried about the cost of heating have changed how they heat their homes this winter to help cut bills.
• Scottish Liberal Democrats are calling for an emergency home insulation programme to help those in fuel poverty.

A shocking new poll commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed that 66% of Scots say they are worried about the cost of heating their home this winter, as they reveal the alternative methods they are using to keep warm this winter.

The poll reveals that a staggering 96% of Scots who are worried about the cost of heating their home this winter have made changes to how they heat their homes.

Of those, 46% have lowered the thermostat temperature and almost a third (29%) have reduced the number of rooms being heated.

To keep warm this winter, 66% of Scots have worn additional clothing, 56% have used more blankets and throws and 38% have been drinking more hot beverages.

Worryingly, 5% of those who are worried about heating costs have revealed they have visited a warm bank this winter. Warm banks are free, safe spaces where people can go to warm up if they can’t afford to heat their homes.

Around 34% of all households in Scotland are estimated to be fuel poor. The energy price cap is set to rise by 5% in April, increasing average annual household bills to £1,823 from April this year.

Liberal Democrat Scottish affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine MP said:

Both the Scottish and UK governments are failing to support Scots with heating their homes during the difficult winter months.

After the UK Labour Government axed universal winter fuel payments, vulnerable pensioners were left to choose between heating and eating. Meanwhile, on the SNP’s watch, fuel poverty has soared to record levels and it could take ministers 100 years to heat eligible homes.

My party has been working hard to try and unpick some of that damage, and after our talks with the Scottish Government, we’ve ensured that all pensioners in Scotland will receive help with their heating bills next winter.

Ministers still have a lot more to do, which is why we want to see the Scottish Government rolling out a nationwide insulation programme. That’s how we can meet the scale of the challenge and provide a win-win of cutting emissions and energy bills.

Cole-Hamilton: UK must stand strong against Putin three years on from illegal invasion

Speaking three years on from Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has said that the UK must stand strong against Putin and boost support for Ukraine by seizing frozen Russian assets, working in close step with Europe and increasing defence spending.

Mr Cole-Hamilton is today attending a commemoration service at Edinburgh Castle, where he will lay a wreath in remembrance of all those who have lost their lives, loved ones and homes three years on from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Liberal Democrats have been calling on the UK Government to seize Russian assets frozen by the UK and other European countries, providing Ukraine with a critical rescue package of over £40 billion worth of support.

The party has also urged the Prime Minister to rapidly increase defence spending, aiming to hit 2.5% of GDP on defence as soon as possible.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

Today, my thoughts are with the brave people of Ukraine who have spent the last three years fighting for their survival.

We live in a new and dangerous world. Now more than ever, we must support our Ukrainian allies, resist Trump’s attempts at a stitch-up with Putin and work with our European neighbours to defend the freedoms we hold so dear.

If the US will not stand up to Putin’s barbarism, Britain must ensure Europe has the leadership it needs, which starts by increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP as soon as possible.

My party also wants to see the £40 billion of Russian assets, frozen by the UK and other European countries, being used to give Ukraine a critical boost.

Labour should ditch plans for health “superboards”

Shetland MSP Beatrice Wishart has today said that Labour should ditch their plans for centralising control over healthcare in the hands of three regional “superboards”.

Her call comes after Scottish Labour set out plans to reduce the number of health boards in Scotland from 14 to 3.

Ms Wishart said:

Scottish Labour fundamentally misunderstands island and rural communities if they think that our needs are best served by a health board that could be based as far away as Dundee.

It’s like they have learned nothing from the SNP’s failures in trying to centralise the running of social care services or the erosion of local links when a single national police force was established.

NHS Shetland already works well in partnership with NHS Grampian and other boards for health treatments that are not available in the isles.

Regardless of which party proposes centralising health services, I cannot see how Islanders’ needs and the services to deliver them, are best met by a mainland superboard. These were bad ideas when they were coming out of the SNP. They are bad ideas in the hands of Labour too.

I cannot imagine that the Western Isles and their Labour MP are any happier about this than I am.

Scottish Liberal Democrats will stand in opposition to any erosion of local health services.

Crown Estate Bill – Labour treating Wales with contempt

Responding to the news that the UK Labour Government has failed to accept amendments to devolve the Crown Estate to Wales, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have accused Labour of treating Wales with contempt.

Commenting after speaking in the debate, Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick said:

If Crown Estate profits were kept in Wales, it could contribute an additional £50 million to the Welsh Government’s budget. That’s more money for our public services, economic investment and infrastructure in our communities.

At a time when public services in Wales are crumbling after 26 years of Labour rule, it is nothing short of outrageous that the Labour Government in Westminster seeks to deny Wales vital sources of income.

The Labour Government’s refusal to devolve powers further entrenches the outrageous notion by Labour and the Conservatives that Wales is a lesser nation than Scotland.

Instead of empowering Welsh communities to harness the benefits of their own resources, profits will continue to flow directly to London.

This is not the vision of growth that will benefit local communities or level up left behind communities. It is a continuation of the Conservatives’ failed economic model that prioritizes centralization and investment in the Southeast of England over everything else.

The Liberal Democrats have long supported devolution and empowering local communities, and we will continue to campaign against this injustice.