This article appears as part of the Unspun: Scottish Politics newsletter.

It would take the average person on Universal Credit around 35 years to earn what the Prime Minister makes in a year – and yet he holds the power to help millions of people stuck in poverty.

I’m not privy to where Sir Keir Starmer or Scottish First Minister John Swinney do their weekly shopping but I don’t imagine their hefty salaries are being used to fill the cash registers in Farmfoods or Aldi.

This week is Challenge Poverty Week, and we are likely to see politicians across the country pledge to reduce it – or blame each other for the problem.

Analysis from the Child Poverty Action Group estimates around 10,000 more children had been pulled into poverty by the two-child limit since Labour took office in July.

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Separate analysis from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation revealed over a million Scots are living in poverty, including 240,000 children, blasting efforts by both the UK and Scottish Governments.

Its report also said the previous UK Government’s “work first” approach had failed to reduce poverty, with more families becoming reliant on social security benefits.

I have written before about the stigma of growing up in poverty and waiting in line for my free school meal ticket, and without the social security support that my parents received while working, I may never have broken the cycle of poverty.

But people who rely on it are forced to feel shame for asking for help.

Growing up I saw how hard my mum worked to give us everything we needed, only to blame herself when that wasn’t possible.

She has worked in social care from the age of 15, spending over 30 years supporting others, and yet the system in place means she and so many other people like her feel they have to struggle rather than ask for help.

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The rate of poverty in the country was described as a “scar” on Scotland, with Citizens Advice Scotland’s chief executive Derek Mitchell adding it destroys lives, families and communities.

I am lucky because I have been able to escape poverty, but the scars of growing up in this way stay with you and I still see the impact it has on my own family, neighbours, and those like us, every day.

So this week, when politicians are telling us their priorities are eradicating child poverty, let’s make sure it’s more than warm words.

The Prime Minister, and the Scottish First Minister’s salaries are well over £150,000 per year including the MP and MSPs wages, while the average person over the age of 25 receives £393.45 per month on Universal Credit.

People living in poverty rely on the likes of Sir Keir Starmer to take action, not pay lip service talking about the issue in his expensive, possibly donated, suit. 

Hopefully this week will serve as food for thought for our senior politicians that while they tuck into their freshly prepared dinners tonight there will be numerous children going without.