Sir Keir Starmer saw a Labour rebellion in Scotland this afternoon as members of the Scottish Parliament voted to demand a U-turn on his Winter Fuel cuts.
MSPs voted by 99 votes to 14 in favour of an SNP motion demanding that Sir Keir and Rachel Reeves change their policy, adding to mounting pressure ahead of the budget.
The motion condemned the pensioner cuts as "damaging" and fumed that the policy is being "forced" on Scotland.
The cuts to Winter Fuel Payment mean the Scottish government will lose around £150 million in funding due to the way their budget is affected by Westminster spending.
A Scottish Labour amendment attempting to amend the SNP's critical motion and remove calls for a U-turn was voted down, however just 16 of Sir Keir's 22 MSPs backed it.
Two Labour MSPs also rebelled in the vote on the SNP's motion, including the former leader of Scottish Labour Richard Leonard, and former deputy leader Alex Rowley.
Mr Leonard has previously condemned Sir Keir's policy, warning it is not "morally right".
He told the Daily Record: "For me the treatment of our older citizens is a test of our values as a society."
"We know the oldest pensioners are the poorest pensioners: many of them older women with no occupational pensions. And we know that providing universal support to reach everyone who needs it is not only morally right, it is much cheaper than means testing.
"This plan should be scrapped and replaced with a wealth tax."
This afternoon First Minister John Swinney called on the PM to reverse its decision, which he blasted as "not in the spirit of devolution".
He argued that vulnerable pensioners are now facing the "double whammy" of high energy costs and the winter fuel cut.
Meanwhile Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar defended Sir Keir, telling Holyrood: "This is a decision that the Labour government did not want to make but they are not responsible for the chaos and damage inherited for the Tories.
"And why the SNP of all people want to minimise the damage the Tories have done is for them to explain."
The Tories were also unsuccessful in trying to add their own amendment to the SNP's motion, which levelled additional criticism at the SNP's record of tackling poverty.
Newly-elected Tory leader Russell Findlay said there is "palpable" fury at Labour across Britain, adding: "Elderly folk who have slogged hard all their days feel absolutely betrayed."
"In depths of a long, cold Scottish winter we know that the winter fuel payments can be the difference between heating and eating."
