Thursday November 27th 2025
MP Kirsty McNeil
This view has been written by Kirsty McNeil MP
This week our Labour Government delivered its second budget and I wanted to reach out to you directly to share what today’s announcements mean for you.
I’m incredibly proud of the choices we have made – choices with Labour values at their heart, focused squarely on doing the most for those with the least.
Our Labour Government has:
– Delivered an extra £820 million in investment for Scotland’s public services, taking the total additional funding to date for the Scottish Government to around £10 billion with Labour.
– Scrapped the two-child benefit cap, changing the futures of 95,000 Scottish kids – including 1,950 in Midlothian.
– Cut costs on energy bills by an average of £150 every year, which alongside the Warm Homes Discount means Labour has delivered £300 off of energy costs for those most in need.
– Increased the State Pension by 4.8% from April 2026, directly raising incomes for 1.1 million pensioners in Scotland.
– Boosted the pensions of 319 people in Midlothian by ending the injustice of the BCSSS Investment Fund, building on the 952 Midlothian mineworkers who benefited from Labour’s reforms to the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme last year.
– Extended the fuel duty freeze, saving the average driver £89 next year.
– Uprated the Universal Credit Standard Allowance by 6.1%, the first ever permanent real terms increase.
– Raised the National Living Wage by 4.1% and the National Minimum Wage by 8.5%, building on April 2025 increases to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage that already directly benefitted 220,000 workers in Scotland.
This is a budget which delivers for Midlothian and delivers for Scotland.
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