What future will we choose?
Twenty years ago, Scotland had higher rates of child poverty than England. Today, they’re significantly lower. That is not an accident.
It’s the result of deliberate, values-driven decisions by a government determined to put children first.
When it comes to child poverty, Scotland is on a completely different trajectory to the other countries within the UK. This is because the SNP relentlessly prioritises children and focuses on creating a society where all have an equal start in life.
Progress is real – even in places like Shetland, where challenges remain. And it’s being recognised far beyond Holyrood. As Save the Children recently noted: Scotland is the only place in the UK where child poverty has fallen, and the only place where there has been significant investment in tackling child poverty through measures including the Scottish Child Payment.
We’re seeing the impact of divergent political choices – the choice to invest in children is paying off.
That payment, introduced by the SNP to counteract Westminster’s cuts – is a weekly benefit for low-income families with children under 16. There’s no cap on how many children a family can receive it for. The Westminster two-child cap is as absurd as it is unjust.
Meanwhile, Scotland is already offering universal free school meals toall children under 10. No child in P1 – P5 goes hungry at lunch because of their parents’ income. In England, most children still don’t qualify, unless they pass a means test.
Anyone who’s raised young children knows how hard it is for them to focus when they’re hungry. Imagine trying to teach a class with a few hungry bairns in the room. Imagine being one of them, trying to learn on an empty stomach. Scotland is choosing to spare children from that. England is not.
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And this pattern repeats. On winter fuel payments, Labour’s U-turn may have reversed an unjust cut, but it still left millions worse off. The SNP, by contrast, ensured qualifying pensioners in Scotland received their full payment, and others received £100. No hesitation. No backtracking.
At every turn, we see an SNP government in Scotland that is doing its best to shield our most vulnerable from the consequences of decisions made elsewhere. But the truth is, mitigation isn’t enough.
Wouldn’t it be better if we had the power to make these decisions ourselves in the first place? To chart a course rooted in our values and the sort of country we want to be? Not forced to clean up after policies we never supported.
Greater control may once have seemed like a bold idea. Today, staying the same feels like the bigger risk.
Hannah Mary Goodlad
SNP candidate for Shetland
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