Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Here’s hoping that 2018 will be a good year for all of us worldwide
Happy new year to all of the Advertiser’s readers; I hope 2018 will be a good year for us all.
Here are the most important things I am hoping for this new year; top of my wish list is for the Scottish and UK governments to make the eradication of poverty their top priority.
Far too many of our people live in poverty and there is no need for it, if governments have the political will to tackle it.
That means taking bold decisions to ensure there is work for all and that all those in work get paid at least the real Living Wage.
It also means that those who rely on benefits, like disabled people and many pensioners, get a decent income they can live on.
As well as dramatically reducing poverty at home, we need to do more – much more – to also eradicate it in the poor countries of the world.
Although the UK, rightly, spends a lot of money on “international development”, far too much of this money ends up in the pockets of middlemen, like big international consultancy companies which make huge profits from this budget.
We need to put a stop to that and ensure the money instead goes to those who need it.
An end to all wars is another of my wishes. When we watch the desperate plight of babies and young children in places like the Yemen, Syria and other war zones, it makes us want to weep.
But us crying isn’t the answer; we all need to do something about the situation.
We need to force our politicians to do much more to bring these wars to an end.
Closer to home in North Lanarkshire, we need to build thousands more affordable homes.
Like every other locally elected representative, my surgeries are dominated by people who desperately need a house.
That includes people who are looking to set up home for the first time, as well as many disabled and elderly people who need a home which is more suitable to their needs.
The dire shortage of houses can only be solved by a huge increase in housebuilding of all types, shapes, sizes and tenures. That must be top of all our agendas. My final hope for 2018 is that all these wishes come true and that everyone has the best year possible.