Tackling Poverty & the Cost of Living

A few years ago, I went for a drink with an old school teacher and after a glass or two, opened up about my childhood and teenage years. “I never knew it had been so bad for you,” she said. “I knew it wasn’t great, but…” Her voice tailed off and she shook her head, sadly.

That’s the thing about poverty today. It isn’t Oliver Twist and ragged urchins; it’s people like we were.

My parents both worked, but it was never enough. And when my dad died, we relied on benefits to top up Mam’s wages. Even when I began working, taxes took us under the poverty line.

But we went out clean and smiled, closing the front door on our struggles.

Behind Fife North East’s tidy streets and well-kept gardens are families just like us. More than one in five children live in poverty. In just over 10 years, Tay Bridgehead Foodbank has spread from Wormit to helping people in Balmerino, Balmullo, Drumoig, Gauldry, Leuchars, Newport-on-Tay and my own Tayport. Cupar Foodbank supports communities from Gateside and Newburgh to St Andrews and the East Neuk.

These aren’t strangers. They’re our neighbours, the people we nod to in the Co-op, parents at the school gates, friends cheering from the sidelines at football matches.

At the heart of politics lies one very simple question: what do you want your society to look like?

For me, the answer is simple. I want a society where everyone has dignity, security and the chance to thrive:

• Warm homes through better insulation and fair energy costs, especially for older, inefficient houses
• Free, nutritious school meals for every child who needs them, term-time and holidays too 
• Crisis support that’s quick, kind and reliable so struggling families get the help they need.
• Better digital connectivity in rural areas so everyone can use services and work from home

I’ll listen, ask the hard questions and get things moving because no one in our community should be left behind.

Poverty may be hidden here, but it’s real.

And I will fight it.

With honesty. With urgency. With determination. By working with people who share these values.

Because Fife North East deserves better.