TIME TO TACKLE POVERTY

Press release for immediate use

6^th March 2022

Dundee Alba Calls for real Action to tackle poverty and insist single people must be included.

  Alba Lochee Cllr Alan Ross today said, “for far too long politicians have tried to manage the effects of poverty by giving people occasional handouts then taking them back as we have just witnessed from Westminster’s £20 top up scheme, but what we need is real action to give people hand ups to get them out of poverty and keep them out of it not teach them how to live in poverty, poverty is not an accident it is a consequence of government and council policies, and as such can be eradicated by better policy decisions at government and council level.”

Mr Ross continued, I am moving a motion at the Alba conference on the 25^th March to set in place policies that do just that, the policy will also for the first time include single people who seem to be the forgotten casualties of poverty, they have just as much right as anyone else to be free from Poverty yet have been left out of many anti-poverty drives of the past, we in the Alba party will not leave anyone behind”.

   Mr Ross’s colleague, Laura Whyte Alba prospective candidate for Strathmartine Ward in Dundee said, “I will be supporting Alan’s motion to conference, here in Dundee the levels of poverty are a disgrace, many of those in poverty are working long hours but still struggling to feed themselves and heat their homes, this is 2022 and we live in a rich country this should not be happening,”

Laura continued, “we need a legal minimum income level set to ensure no one falls into the poverty trap when prices increase, the sticking plaster policies from the established parties have been proven to be ineffective, they have also discriminated against those without children, (for many not having children was not by choice), and single people, we must have a fully inclusive anti-poverty strategy that leaves no one behind, under the system we have today most of us are one pay packet away from poverty, that is not a way anyone should be living in a rich nation like Scotland,”

ACTUAL MOTION FOR CONFERENCE

Minimum Income Guarantee

“Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life. While poverty persists, there is no true freedom.”

Conference believes it is a disgrace that around a fifth of Scots live in poverty and poverty rates have been increasing since 2014.

One in four Scots children (240,000) live in poverty. Single people, singleparent families, and large families (more than three children) suffer increased poverty levels with a third of these groups living in poverty.

Deep poverty (defined as 50% of median income) has now reached similar levels to that found 20 years ago with 14% of people in Scotland having far less than is needed to make ends meet.

The crushing impact of poverty literally steals years of healthy life from the poorest Scots; males born in the most deprived areas can expect about 25 fewer years in good health than males born in the least deprived areas. The gap is over 21 years for females.

Conference believes poverty is not an accident and that poverty can be removed by actions of government.

Conference believes Scotland should have; initially a Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) ,which is a universal guaranteed income for every Scot, delivered through targeted payments and free of behavioural conditions.

This will provide relief for the poorest Scots and will put cash into their hands allowing them basic dignity. A Minimum Income Guarantee would be the first step on the path to a Universal Basic Income (UBI) and the socially just independent Scotland we will build.