Dear Prime Minister,
An Open Letter from Scotland’s
Poverty Truth Commission
The ‘people of Scotland have spoken’
and have decided that Scotland will remain an integral part of the United
Kingdom. Now is the time for us all to work together for the changes which all
political parties have committed to and for which there is a clear hunger
throughout the nation.
People in Scotland who struggle
against poverty on a daily basis were on both sides of the debate. Some wanted
to remain part of the United Kingdom and others wanted an independent Scotland.
It would be wrong to claim otherwise. However, it is also clear that there is a
correlation, at least at local authority level, between the intensity of the
levels of poverty within communities and support for independence. The four
local authorities which returned a vote in favour of independence are the four with the highest levels of deprivation.
Over the last five years, Scotland’s Poverty Truth Commission has
brought together those living in ongoing poverty with some of Scotland’s
leading civic and political leaders. The Commission is non-partisan but it is
clear on one thing: poverty will never begin to be adequately addressed until
those who suffer most directly from its impact are recognised as germane to its
resolution. Our most recent report, Turning
Up the Volume on Poverty was published in June.
As you embark on the journey of
helping to deliver the change that Scotland has demanded, I would invite you
and your colleagues to meet with the Commission. It is one small, but
significant, way in which your plans will be informed by the issue that really
divides our nation – the growing disparity between rich and poor.
Yours sincerely,
Martin Johnstone
Secretary, Scotland’s
Poverty Truth Commission
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