FM sets out demands on child poverty

WHOEVER wins the General Election must take real action to tackle child poverty, Nicola Sturgeon has warned.

The First Minister was campaigning for SNP candidates, and spoke at an election event in Johnstone last night.

In Glasgow, one in three children are living in poverty, and in the poorest communities the figure rises to one in two children. Sturgeon said the poverty rate in the UK is worse than in Scotland, and that the Scottish Government has been spending money to mitigate the worst of welfare cuts, which are recognised as increasing poverty.

The First Minister said: “SNP MPs will demand the next UK Government match our ambition, stop making poverty worse and follow our approach – lifting incomes up instead of pushing them down.

“A vote for the SNP in this election is a vote to get rid of the Tories, escape Brexit and have a choice over our future so we can protect families from Tory welfare cuts and bring an end to poverty across Scotland.”

The First Minister made three key demands of the next Prime Minister.

She called for a new benefit that will reduce child poverty, UKwide legal targets for ending child poverty targets and a poverty and inequality commission to provide expert advice on using Westminster powers to tackle poverty. She also said that an independence referendum is coming.

At the rally in Johnstone with SNP candidate Mhairi Black, Sturgeon said: “Whatever your views on independence, surely we should all agree that Scotland’s future must be Scotland’s choice.

“It’s not up to Boris Johnson. It’s not up to Jeremy Corbyn. It’s not even up to me. The decision on Scotland’s future is for you – and every single person in Scotland.

“For all the bluster from Westminster politicians, the reality is that everyone knows a fresh independence referendum is coming.”