Political choices have robbed children of their childhood

The General Election marked a landslide victory for the Labour Party in Scotland, winning 37 seats. But it also brought a renewed opportunity for the UK and Scottish Government to work together to deliver real change for children in Scotland.

Speaking after the meeting with First Minister John Swinney, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his new government has a "clear mandate for change" and must 'reset' the relationship between the two governments. The First Minister has also stated that he will work cooperatively with the new Westminster Government.

For Scotland's children, change cannot come soon enough. The heart-breaking reality is that one in four children in Scotland are living in poverty. Families tell us they struggle to put meals on the table, pay basic household bills and replace clothes and shoes their children have outgrown.

Simply put, they don’t have enough money to get by. The time for change is now. We know where there is strong political will, child poverty can be eradicated so that’s why Save the Children is calling on both governments to come together and use all the levers at their disposal to make sure every child in Scotland can thrive.

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First, we need a robust child poverty strategy at a UK level, in addition to the Scottish Government’s child poverty strategy and action plan. It must recognise the importance of working across governments to maximise impact for children, regardless of where powers sit and what parties are in power.

We also want to see the UK Government tackle the main drivers of poverty such as inadequate social security, low pay and insecure work. This includes scrapping the cruel two-child limit. Analysis shows that scrapping the two-child limit would immediately lift 15,000 children in Scotland out of poverty.

'We want to see the UK Government tackle the main drivers of poverty such as inadequate social security, low pay and insecure work. This includes scrapping the cruel two-child limit.' (Image: Derek McArthur/Getty)
We are heartened that Labour has committed to a full-scale review of Universal Credit, and the results of this review must include reforms to the many issues we know are impacting families with children across the UK and in Scotland such as inflated wait times.

So, there is no doubt that policy decisions made at a UK level can help Scotland to meet its legally binding child poverty targets by 2030. But the Scottish Government cannot and must not lift its foot off the gas.

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We welcome the fact that child poverty has been re-affirmed as the Scottish Government’s number one priority, but we need to see bold action to meet the scale of the challenge. If the UK Government introduced our calls and the Scottish Government made true on their promise to become laser focused on child poverty, we would be able to look towards even exceeding the 2030 targets. After all, reducing child poverty to below 10% was the floor of our ambitions, not the ceiling.

Punitive political choices have robbed children of their childhood for too long and it’s time for both governments to put their differences aside and focus on ending child poverty for good.

Suzi Murning is Policy and Advocacy Advisor at Save the Children.