Susan Aitken: 'The cost-of-living crisis is becoming very real for many working families'

Most Glaswegians will be aware to some extent of what is fast emerging. Energy bills are rising by an average of 54%, which works out as an increase of around £700-a-year from April. We simply don’t know for how energy long prices will remain so high but it could be for a couple of years, thrusting tens of thousands more Glasgow households into fuel poverty.

Over the weekend we heard from the chair of Tesco that the worst is yet to come regarding rising food prices, with retailers passing on the impact of soaring fuel costs to customers.  

Add to this the fact that inflation is on course to rise above 7% this year, National Insurance contributions are about to increase, and Universal Credit has been cut and it’s not difficult to see how we have a genuine and mounting crisis. Over the weekend, like many of you, I was gravely worried to hear from people working on the frontline with those living in poverty talk about the very real possibility of lives being lost as a result.

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The UK Government has a responsibility to address this. They have the levers. They have the powers. And they can make the political choices to alleviate the worst excesses of this crisis. So far, their response has been worse than inadequate. Offering a loan to people already coping with more than a decade of Tory austerity and now staring at further hardship just doesn’t cut it.

Many times in this column I have talked about the choices we make in Scotland and here in Glasgow. Right now, Scotland is spending hundreds of millions of pounds every year to address the impact of Tory Westminster policies, be that mitigating the Bedroom Tax through to energy efficiency programmes, while from April more than 100,000 children will benefit from our decision in Scotland to double our Child Payment to £20-per-week. We will continue to do so.

Here in Glasgow, I remain hugely proud of the work we’ve pioneered around our holiday food programmes and expanding free school meals ahead of other council areas.

The reality is, as this crisis bites, we in local government are going to have to make some really tough calls. We simply cannot afford to wait for the Tories, whose policies already have a fatal impact on too many Glaswegians, to strengthen the safety nets and protect our citizens from the worst cost of living crisis in decades.

At the time of writing, we await the Scottish Government’s proposed response to the crisis and here at the council we’re exploring what we can do with the limited powers and resources at our disposal. But – as we always do – we will prioritise and reprioritise, stepping up to this unfolding issue with the urgency it demands.

We have plenty to build on, ensuring that we’re able to reach out to those in need rather than waiting for them to come to us. Our financial inclusion teams already have a presence in secondary schools, ensuring that families and carers have access to assistance around their welfare rights and incomes they’re entitled to, as well as support with employment and issues such as fuel poverty. We also work closely with One Parent Families Scotland to tackle child poverty in the city. These are the types of things we at the council must resource and expand if we’re to address the growing needs Glasgow faces. 

Glasgow knows only too well the heavy toll of poverty and welfare cuts, of being less than an afterthought to Tory ministers and having to pick up the pieces of the devastation their policies inflict. Incredible as it now seems, Glasgow once had political administrations who blatantly ignored massive social problems caused by the Tories because they felt powerless to do anything. 

Thankfully that has now changed. Limited though our powers are, we can make a huge difference to many lives. Those lives will be at the forefront of our response to this crisis and the choices we make in the weeks and months ahead.

GLASGOW has a remarkable capacity for transforming itself. Those of us old enough to remember the city of the 1980s or indeed the changes to our neighbourhoods in the past two decades will recognise that.

Our city is changing again. From the explosion in online shopping and continuing popularity of out-of-town malls to our different expectations around the look and feel of town centres, it’s clear traditional high streets aren’t going back to what they were even a decade ago. Like city centres across the world, we’re facing a major period of upheaval and transition. Covid alone didn’t cause that but it has speeded it up.

We’ve been laying the foundations for that flux. Key streets are being transformed with significant investment, the revamp of George Square begins next year and we’re pressing ahead with plans to double the number of people living in the city centre.

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The vision for the city centre’s future, one that looks forward to the next 50 years and not just the next five, has now been boosted with the plans for a £825 million investment at the Buchanan Galleries site.

Owners Landsec want to create an entire new quarter, one that responds to a changing city and combines retail with residential, and office space with public space. Landsec’s proposed level of investment demonstrates huge confidence in Glasgow’s future.

The historic importance of shopping to Glasgow can make it hard to imagine a future less centred on retail. And that future has to be about more than any one street or nostalgic memories of the way things used to be. It will mean a bit less retail, a greater focus on the experience of the visitor, and more people living in the historic core of the city. Home to 170,000 jobs, Glasgow city centre is Scotland’s biggest economic asset. It needs a plan that understands the realities of where the world is going now, while building on the best things from our past.