LAST week, I chaired an East Lothian poverty workshop and want to thank representatives of about 25 organisations for focused and productive discussions.
I believe strongly in supporting community initiatives: much can and will be done to support those who are struggling.
The increasing knowledge and experience of my Holyrood team finds solutions for those facing food or fuel poverty or other hardship.
Nevertheless, it’s shocking that 90 years after the first national hunger march left Glasgow in 1932, I’m leading poverty workshops in prosperous East Lothian, where individuals and families should be able to aspire to have good jobs and warm homes, not worry about feeding their families.
READ MORE: 'Mark of shame' as East Lothian Foodbank has its busiest ever month
We will be following up with further poverty-related initiatives – it’s my main focus.
Many will be aware of the bombshell of bad economic news: we’ve had shortages of basic essentials, fuel and delivery drivers.
Now we’re facing price rises: National Insurance, gas, electricity, food – all up.
At the same time, the Bank of England Governor has the brass neck to urge ‘wage restraint’, expecting people to accept low wages that will barely be sufficient to cover their daily needs.
This is austerity revisited.
The Scottish Government has already committed to doubling the child payment and has made available £1 million in hardship funding for East Lothian, but the Westminster decision to cut Universal Credit needs to be reversed – urgently. What people in Scotland want are policies that enable them to warm their homes and put food on their tables.
Foodbank use in East Lothian was up 40 per cent in December alone.
On your behalf, I’ve organised a meeting early in March with energy companies including ScottishPower, EDF, Scottish Gas, Seagreen, SSE and others to identify pathways not only to affordable green energy through renewables, and broader measures that are part of the energy package, but also over jobs.
Scotland and the UK face their biggest cost of living crisis in at least 30 years. The UK ‘Department of Levelling Up’ is the evidence that the UK hasn’t achieved national equality.
Mahatma Gandhi stated: “Poverty is the worst form of violence.” I would agree.
Politics is all about choices; we must always choose to protect the most vulnerable in our society – as the MSP for East Lothian, I will always strive to do so.
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