ERADICATING family poverty is at the very heart of Glasgow’s agenda.

For the SNP City Administration, it’s been a priority since Day One.  

If politics is about choices, then the SNP’s choice is to protect and support citizens against the effects of financial hardship as best we can.

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Unfortunately, despite the change of party and personnel at Westminster, all the indications are the new Labour Government’s choice is to plough on with so many of their predecessors’ iniquitous policies and agendas.

The existence of child poverty in our city is, sadly, nothing new. It’s been rife for generations.

But the impacts of Tory austerity and the ideological assaults on the poorest has made it a moral obligation for local and national government here in Scotland to do more with the resource we have.

In a UK where social, economic and health inequalities are deepening, it’s been a real challenge for all partners to do better for our children, young people and families.

At a Scottish Government level, hundreds of millions are spent mitigating the impacts of Westminster policies, be that the Bedroom Tax, Rape Clause or cuts to Universal Credit.

The Scottish Child Payment, for example, helps prevent tens of thousands of youngsters falling into poverty.

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Indeed, recent research has shown that if the UK Government replicated the policy, over half a million children would be much better off.

Here at the City Council, one of the first decisions by the SNP when elected in 2017 was to introduce the hugely popular Holiday Food Programme.

In the subsequent years, our commitment to tackling child poverty has seen the Council and its partners roll out innovative and effective approaches addressing both the root causes and immediate effects of poverty.  

Approaches such as ‘Cash First’, which puts money directly into the pockets of hard-pressed families to spend on essentials.

Or our ‘financial inclusion officers’, who ensure families receive all the benefits and support they’re entitled to.

Working with organisations across the third, housing and public sectors, we’re ensuring citizens receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time.

Our partners’ commitment to the No Wrong Door policy means Glaswegians in need can seamlessly access support from multiple organisations.

Just last week, I’d the privilege to visit several third sector partners delivering valuable work to single-parent families, those with autistic children and those struggling with the cost of clothing.

These are just some examples of how the Council and its partners deliver sustainable and targeted support.

But the poverty we’re seeing across our city can be complex and severe.

The bottom line is that we need systematic change.

The Council is limited in what it can do, so too the Scottish Government. We need the Labour Government to shift its focus and properly respond to child poverty as those who voted for change expect.

In the months ahead, I will continue to push Labour councillors, MSPs and MPs on their moral obligation to ensure their party leaders stop failing the poorest in society.

And I will continue to use the platforms available to me, be that Council structures or the Glasgow Times, to hammer this issue.

With public spending cuts looming in the UK Budget, the stakes have rarely been higher. For the sake of our citizens, we will continue to demand more. They expect and deserve nothing less.  

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LIKE all who knew him, I was devastated by the death last week of my friend and SNP colleague Cllr Kenny McLean.

Kenny tirelessly served his constituents in Partick for over 17 years and was a passionate advocate for Glasgow and for Scotland.

Above all, Kenny was the epitome of decency.

The tributes to him from across the political divide are testament to a man who was regarded by all who knew him as kind, dedicated and full of absolute integrity.

As has been said many times in recent days, Kenny was a gentleman in every sense of the word. 

A loyal friend to so many, he will be missed more than he’d ever have known.