Labour's legacy of poverty
Today, new statistics showed that almost a million people in Scotland are living in poverty.
Almost a million of our people.
That is sickening. And the Labour Party that's dominated Scottish politics for decades, been in power in the UK for ten years, run the government in the Scottish Parliament for 8 years and been in charge in nearly every council in Scotland since nineteen canteen just says it's on course to eradicate child poverty by 2020. First of all, it doesn't look like it. And secondly, what on earth is keeping them?
"Disgraceful" says Save the Children to the figures that also show that, in no change to last year, a quarter of a million children in this rich nation of ours are living in poverty - 150,000 of them in ABSOLUTE poverty. Organisations like this must feel like they are banging their heads off of brick walls.
Poverty isn't just a word - it's something that has a knock on effect in every area of your life. And behind these statistics are real people. Without resources in this modern world it's so much harder to have confidence, to feel empowered, to be positive about the future.
There are two things that drive me absolutely mad when it comes to people living in poverty. One is the plethora of folk in the 90s who wanted to "try it for a week" just to see if they could. Politicians, musicians, journalists - all trying to "experience" poverty. They didn't no matter what they think and the never could have because poverty isn't something you do on holiday, it's not a week long activity, it's the long term nature of it that makes it so difficult to live with.
And the other is Scottish Labour politicians and the fact that they've presided over horrendous rates of child poverty for decades and none of them seem at all concerned. I know Rome wasn't built in a day but they've had their chances and still those 250,000 children are out there living their daily lives in poverty. The SNP keeps saying it but it really is time for an SNP government who will get in there, roll their sleeves up and start making a real difference to those children's lives.
