Statistics on poverty make shocking reading

We are often told that children are the future, but right now it appears we are failing to provide them with a present.

On pages eight and nine this week we have a special report which lays bare the extent of child poverty in Rutherglen and Cambuslang. It makes for pretty grim reading. Almost one in four children belong to households living below the breadline, once domestic bills are taken into account.

Think about that for a moment. If you have kids, imagine their class in school. The chances are, at least one of their friends will have parents who are struggling to keep them warm and even feed them. It is a situation which shames us all. We are talking about thousands of kids here - and when areas like Castlemilk and Toryglen are thrown into the equation, the situation gets even worse.

In fact, in the council ward covering Toryglen, nearly half of kids live in poverty.

There may be no easy solutions to this problem. But that does not mean one does not exist.

While the politicians snipe at one another, it is often left to hard- working charities and volunteers to help these families out and give a glimmer of hope.

One example is the local food bank, which is an organisation the very members who run it would rather did not exist.

We fervently hope the situation will improve,although it is actually getting worse and there does not seem to be an end in sight.

Elsewhere in this week’s paper, we were delighted to hear our feature on the history of Glencairn has proven popular with readers, see page 15. It shows the power of the local press and we wish the club well in their future endeavours.