Mhairi Black: How long can we plaster over Tory-inflicted wounds?

In 2016, the Leave campaign promised lower food prices with Brexit. Now, more than three years later, we are having to contend with record levels of inflation sending the cost of basic food items up by as much as 80%.

It was reported recently that the chief executive of Tesco received a £4.4 million pay packet last year, making around 197 times the amount the average Tesco worker earns.

I’m pretty sure the supermarket workers who put their health on the line during the global pandemic, serving customers and stacking the shelves so we could all live safely and work from home would love to see some of that £4.4m distributed a bit more evenly around the Tesco workforce. 

It is ridiculous statistics like this that show you we have a real problem in our society when it comes to distributing wealth.

We are living in a world where it is cheaper to go and buy a cheeseburger from McDonald’s than it is to go and buy a loaf of bread at the supermarket.

That same Tesco worker that gets paid 197 times less than the chief executive most likely spends most of that wage on Tesco food. It is warped. The UK Government needs to do more about food prices rocketing and wages stagnating.

And of course, food prices are predicted to rise further due to Brexit, with new borders and customs checks that will be coming into effect for EU imports.

The reality is that both the Tories and Labour are tied to the idea of Brexit Britain. The absolute denial of the damage it has caused, and still is causing, continues to harm people across Scotland every day.

People are finding it impossible to save money and even more are falling into debt just trying to live. Mortgages are through the roof, in-work and food poverty are at record highs across the UK.

Of course, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have had a global impact on finances but it does not explain why inflation is higher in the UK than in other similarly developed nations such as Germany, France or the USA.

It is the political choices being made – such as the Brexit Scotland never voted for and the UK Government continually making dodgy deals with their pals – that have seen the demise of the UK economy.

I recently came across a study by Barnardo’s that found one in three young people (aged 10-25) and their families have had to rely on food banks or community fridges.

This same study found that almost half of those participating had worried about how they were going to afford things in the last six months, and one in four had started that day without a meal.

It also found that having enough money to cover basic needs has become the most common aspiration for most young people – overtaking other traditional goals such as going for their dream job or buying a house.

That is horrific reading. Where the next generation of people should have big aspirations and hope for the future, instead we see the opposite. A majority now believe they will be worse off than their parents.

That is what has been created for our young people by out-of-touch Westminster governments. Those feelings of hopelessness and frustration that we have all felt through a generation of austerity and misery have now been inherited by our young folk.

If you are 15 or 16 years old, you have never known a Scotland where food banks did not exist. 

Tory and Labour politicians will line up in a row to tell you how Scotland and our Government are somehow to blame. Shamelessly ignoring the work the SNP do to mitigate the UK Government’s disastrous policies every year.

Here’s a great example of the Scottish Parliament functioning despite Westminster pinning one hand behind our back – in Scotland, 55% of children with mothers that are under 25 years old are in poverty.

Young single mothers are disproportionately worse off than other groups in society. As it stands, the UK Government pays out more in Universal Credit to over-25s than under-25s.

However, recently, SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor submitted a motion asking Holyrood to top up the Scottish Child Payment for parents under 25.

So long as Westminster controls the financial levers, it is Westminster policies that are causing Scottish children to experience poverty. The Scottish Government is doing what it has always done – trying to fix it however it can.

The difference between the two parliaments could not be clearer. Actions such as this would never see the light of day in Westminster. They do not want to fix the crisis facing young mothers since they can’t even sort out the price of a loaf of bread. 

Child poverty in Scotland is lower than in the rest of the UK because we have the Scottish Parliament taking action to soften the blows from London – but as food prices continue to rise, it is only going to become more difficult while still remaining part of the UK.

We can have all the devolved powers we wish, but we will never have the ability to fully transform Scotland into a fair and equal country without the full powers of independence.

As ultimately, the Scottish budget continues to be at the mercy of another government unelected by Scotland. We will continue to put plasters over these deep wounds but without independence, Scotland will continue to bleed.