The Labour Party has often been wracked by disputes over ideological differences, but there has always been an internal consensus among the various factional players that a minimal aim of Labour in government is to reduce poverty. Gaitskellite, Bevanite, Blairite, Brownite, Corbynite: all agreed that Labour had a distinctive distributional mission that sought to use the state … [Read more...] about Labour and ending poverty
Child poverty
Ending child poverty – hard facts vs empty promises
The recent political manoeuvring around abolishing the cap for some families on benefits has brought the issue of child poverty back to the fore. The Labour Party is setting up a Child Poverty Taskforce to look into the matter and there is pressure from within and without to do something in the October Budget. Meanwhile, John Swinney is well ahead of the pack, claiming, on his … [Read more...] about Ending child poverty – hard facts vs empty promises
Political posturing over child poverty
There are around a quarter of a million Scottish children living in relative poverty out of 4.3m in the UK as a whole, according to the Scottish Government. John Swinney says “eradicating child poverty in Scotland is my top priority as First Minister” but he and his administration admit that current levels of relative poverty are little changed over the past five years when … [Read more...] about Political posturing over child poverty
Free school meals and child poverty
Last weekend a commitment was made by the Deputy First Minister that, if the SNP win the next election, they will extend universal free school meals to all attending primary school, covering both breakfast and lunch, a policy that it is claimed will reduce child poverty. There’s no official published economic, financial or inequalities appraisal from the government just yet, … [Read more...] about Free school meals and child poverty
Poverty and coronavirus in Edinburgh: solutions in shared humanity
Edinburgh, the wealthiest city in Scotland, is amongst the hardest hit economically by the coronavirus crisis in the UK. While the risks of deepening inequality are undoubtedly increasing, our shared human response to this crisis perhaps allows us to see the emergence of new solutions more clearly. The picture of poverty in Edinburgh is distinctive – and alarming. In this … [Read more...] about Poverty and coronavirus in Edinburgh: solutions in shared humanity