Higher taxation could end homelessness and ‘violence of poverty’ in Scotland

The Scotsman’s recent reports from Venezuela paint a sad picture of people struggling to get by, with the meagre resources available, in a failed economy. Some of these people will have died from lacking the essentials of life. These troubles are treated as an “over there” problem, as these things supposedly do not happen here in the UK.

This is, however, sadly not the case. The Office for National statistics has calculated that 691 homeless people died in the UK in 2017, very nearly 2 per day, an increase of 169 per cent since the Tories came to power in 2010. Some 94 of these deaths were in Scotland. Eighty-four per cent were men at an average age of 44 years. The woman’s average age was 42 years. Half of these deaths were recorded as drug poisoning, suicide or alcohol abuse. The charity Crisis estimated that there were 24,000 homeless people in the UK on Christmas Day 2018.

We do not need to send reporters abroad to find people dying of poverty. They are here on our doorstep and they die every single day.

The Scottish and UK media roundly ignores them. The Tory party, to their shame, have a dark history of being unconcerned about such issues.

I feel we can expect no help from them in our fight to end this carnage. I do have expectations of the Scottish Parliament, however.

I believe they have a will to invest in housing and decent social security payments to stop this happening in Scotland.

This will require maximising the tax take by growing the Scottish economy. The Scottish Parliament’s ability to do this will come with more powers and, eventually, with Scottish independence.

Poverty amidst plenty is not inevitable or unavoidable. It is created by Government policy. It is a political choice.

The term that sums it up for me is “the violence of poverty”. Political and civil society inaction on this issue produces this violence against the poor. It can and must stop. FRANCIS BUCHAN Drybrough Crescent

Edinburgh