Professor John Robertson OBA
From the Guardian today:
Record 4.5m children in poverty in UK [sic] as cuts condemned as ‘morally repugnant’ – Campaigners have said it is “morally repugnant” that vulnerable people are bearing the brunt of spending cuts after official figures showed a record 4.5 million children are living in poverty in the UK.
The poverty figures showed that in Scotland 23% of children were in poverty, compared with 31% in England and Wales. Holyrood missed its 18% poverty figure target, though experts said its rates would be higher without its child poverty programme.
Prof Ruth Patrick, a professor in social policy at the University of York, said: “The progress Scotland has made on driving poverty rates down shows another way is possible. The UK government could lift 700,000 children out of poverty overnight by matching Scotland’s fiscal commitment to driving poverty down.”
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/27/children-poverty-government-benefit-welfare-cuts-uk
23%, 31%, single figure differences that Scotland’s media can present as not so different but:
31% is 34.7% higher than 23%.
There are around 900 000 under 16s in Scotland. A shocking 200 000 live in relative poverty but if these 900 000 lived in England, 279 000 of them would, nearly 80 000 more. Not good enough I know but the SNP is dedicated to the eradication of child poverty and will do so when it has full control over the economy.
Why, if you need reminded, does this matter so much? This:
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Relative poverty and absolute poverty. The Scottish Gov child payment is lifting children out of poverty. Kinship payments. Extended nursery provision. Less children in foster care. Support for people in foster care. No council tax. Educational support. Affordable houses. Transport, prescriptions. Personel care. Affordable housing. Covid caused a stop in production.
Scotland raises £100Billion. Scotland has to pay too much for the military. 180,000 military personnel. 10,000 based in Scotland. Trident and redundant weaponry. Illegal wars causing mass migration. Westminster spending £13Billion in decommissioning nuclear wants to build more. Trident dumped in Scotland, without authority. Scotland in surplus in fuel and energy pays more. Hinkley Point a total waste of money. Years late and over budget. HS2 a total waste of money. £Billions lost. Scotland has to make repayments on debts not borrowed or spent in Scotland. Unemployment in Scotland 3.3%. Low. Unemployment in the rest of the UK. 4.4%+.
Westminster is raising on average. £1000Billion. Spending £1200Billion. Spending £85Billion on debt repayment. One year. High. £85Billion repayment on £120Billion of borrowing, What rate of interest?
Labour have more monies coming in. Yet are cutting, essential,necessary welfare. For the sick and disabled. Increasing military spending. They would rather people died than kept them alive.
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Relieving poverty means less need for other services. It pays for itself. More equality and cohesion leads to more prosperity. Cutting welfare to fund the military is just a waste of money. Monies already wasted on Trident and redundant weaponry. Instead of nuclear reduction Treaties. Agreed in the 1900’s now being dishonoured.
Tech and other international companies tax evade. They create a monopoly and charge what they like. Break competition Laws. Governments are now holding them to account. The companies spread child abuse and other sordid content to make money. They could shut it down but continue unethically to make more.
Comoetition is now catching them out. Prices could fall and more ethical intervention put in place. Governments are catching up and catching them out.
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Children living in poverty are part of families living in poverty, systematically beaten beaten down by successive governments for far too long, obsessed as they are with neo-liberal economics…
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The economist, Richard Murphy, “Funding the Future”, has an article today about child poverty, so I’ve quoted the figures you have provide d, noting the difference between Scotland, and the rest of the U.K. Hope you don’t mind.
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Delighted. Share share share
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The BBC News website on March 27 2025 had this headline: UK child poverty numbers reach a record high’.
It repeated: ’An extra 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, will be pushed into relative poverty by these changes, according to the government’s own impact assessment.’
Of course the party of government referred to is the British Labour Party, the same party that wishes us to vote it into government in Holyrood in 2026. The very same party that ‘Scotland’s Champion’, the Daily Record urged us to vote for in the 2024 UK General Election and will no doubt support in the Holyrood election in 2026.
In a Daily Record article on child poverty in Scotland published on March 23, 2023 one can read this: ‘Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy said: “The SNP’s failure to tackle poverty is a shameful blight on their record in government.
“A single person in poverty is one too many and a single day spent in poverty is a day too many – but the SNP seem content to let things stall at these devastating levels.’ (my emphasis)
Let’s repeat the Labour government’s own impact assessment: ‘An extra 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, will be pushed into relative poverty by these changes’.
Source: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/child-poverty-same-disturbing-level-29530281
On March 27, 2025 the BBC News website had this headline: ‘Sarwar defends UK government welfare cuts’.
‘Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has defended the UK government’s controversial welfare reforms. Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed £5bn of cuts in the Spring Statement in a bid to meet self-imposed debt rules. The cuts have been condemned by charities, Holyrood ministers and some Scottish Labour politicians.
‘Sarwar insisted the “principle” of reform was right but that any measures had to be “fair”.’ Fair? What about: ‘A single person in poverty is one too many and a single day spent in poverty is a day too many’?
The BBC piece also has this: ‘The Fraser of Allander Institute said the Scottish government would receive an extra £28m in 2025-26 as a result of the chancellor’s spending plans.
‘The think tank reported the welfare reforms would lead to a £200m cut in Treasury funding for Scotland in 2028-29, and a £425m cut in 2029-30. It said, overall, the Scottish government budget would be about £900m worse off by 2030 than was previously projected.’
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