ON Tuesday, I spoke in a debate about eradicating child poverty. While this issue is never far from my mind, I wanted to speak in this debate because of my constituency.
It goes without saying that Pat Burke and the rest of the board of Children in Poverty Inverclyde do a fantastic job locally.
However, I doubt anyone would begrudge me for saying that I hope there comes a day when their services are no longer needed – because I want to see child poverty resigned to the history books.
It’s reasonable to assume that everyone wants to see an end to poverty in all its forms.
However, wanting to end poverty and working to deliver this are two very different things. For politicians, that’s especially true and although I acknowledge the resource my party has invested in trying to help people, there is still a massive challenge. However, when Save the Children UK highlight there are 4.3m children living in poverty across the UK, it highlights how concerning the problem is.
A recent annual progress report covering the Scottish Government’s actions to tackle child poverty reveal that almost £1.4 billion has been invested to support children in low-income households in the last financial year.
The SNP’s track record when it comes to reducing child poverty is further backed up by modelling published in February 2024 which estimates that Scottish Government policies will keep 100,000 children out of relative poverty this year.
So, even amidst the difficult financial challenge the Scottish Government finds itself in, the SNP is choosing to find the money to provide badly needed additional support. This is in sharp contrast to the current UK Government who are funding tax cuts for the rich and removing the cap on bankers’ bonuses, the latter being supported by UK Labour.
After 14 years of austerity, the UK Conservative government is finished. However, as Sir Keir prepares to change the wallpaper in Downing Street, I pose this question: what is the point in Labour replacing the Tories if the red rosette offers nothing different than the blue?
The First Minister has made eradicating child poverty his government's top priority – but Westminster policies like the two child limit, which Starmer has refused to commit to scrapping, hamper the SNP Scottish Government’s progress.
If Labour become the new Westminster government, they have an opportunity to deliver a Westminster reset on tackling child poverty – but instead, Starmer is vowing to adopt the same approach to public policy and spending as the Conservatives.
This will do absolutely nothing to alleviate child poverty and instead will shrink household budgets even more – particularly for low-income families.
The SNP is the only party that are focused on delivering a fairer future for all – one that well and truly makes child poverty a thing of the past.
Finally, on a consensual note, I am sure we can all join together and wish the men’s national football team well in Germany at Euro24. Three matches to make history, including the opening match with the hope that we can go further for the first time. C’mon Scotland!!
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