In a country as wealthy as the United Kingdom, it is a tragedy that so many communities are left behind. Glasgow North East, where I have the honour of serving as Member of Parliament, is a stark example of this. It is home to the lowest life expectancy of any constituency in the UK—a fact that, though shocking, is not surprising. Poverty doesn’t just make life a struggle; it shortens it.
Growing up in Easterhouse, one of the most deprived areas of Glasgow, I saw firsthand the toll poverty takes on families and communities. I left school at 15 to help provide for my family when both of my parents were diagnosed with tuberculosis. That experience shaped my understanding of poverty not as an abstract concept, but as a lived reality—something that affects real people, families, children, and communities.
The devastating impact of poverty has stayed with me, and it is why I am so deeply invested in fighting for change. When my sister passed away in her thirties, leaving behind her young daughter, I couldn’t help but wonder how much her circumstances—the environment in which she was raised—had shaped her fate. When my brother David died in his fifties from cancer, I wondered whether his chances of survival would have been better had he lived in a wealthier area with better access to healthcare and support.
These personal tragedies are not isolated. They reflect a broader issue: in too many parts of the UK, poverty is limiting the potential of entire communities, robbing children of the chance to build better lives for themselves, and depriving families of the stability they need to thrive. The truth is that poverty in Glasgow North East is not just a policy failure; it is a moral failure.
I will not stand by and accept this reality. The Government has already taken steps to tackle poverty through progressive policies, such as the Employment Rights Bill, which aims to improve pay and working conditions for millions of workers across the country. This is a vital shift in our approach to work—moving away from insecurity and low pay to stability and fair compensation.
But we must do more. The statistics are stark: 38% of children in my constituency live in poverty, and we see the heartbreaking impact of this every day. Families like Martin’s—a father trying to raise his three children in temporary accommodation, where they must move rooms every night—illustrate the devastating consequences of a lack of stable housing. Martin is just one of many who are struggling to make ends meet, unable to provide his children with the stable home they deserve.
The question we must ask ourselves as a government—and as a society—is how we allow these conditions to persist. Why are so many children going to bed hungry? Why are so many people living in temporary accommodation, unable to find a permanent home? Why, in one of the richest countries in the world, are so many forced to rely on food banks just to get by?
While we rightly scrutinise what more needs to be done, we must also recognise the steps that are already being taken. The Government’s commitment to tackling in-work poverty through fairer employment practices and improved pay is a step in the right direction. This commitment builds on the legacy of the last Labour Government, which lifted millions of people, including over a million pensioners and nearly a million children, out of poverty.
However, the responsibility to address poverty does not rest solely with Westminster. Much of the power to influence poverty in my constituency now lies with the Scottish Government, and it is essential that they act. For too long, politicians in Edinburgh have overpromised and underdelivered. Compassionate rhetoric has been met with compassionless outcomes, and this has had a devastating impact on the lives of my constituents.
The current situation is unacceptable. No child should grow up in a home without heating, with no access to food, or without the basic comforts that allow them to thrive. This is the reality for far too many people across the UK today, and it must change. As former Prime Minister Gordon Brown once said, “No society can or should be at ease when children are being brought up in houses without heating, kitchens without cookers, bedrooms without beds, floors without floor coverings, or toilets without toilet roll or soap.”
This is the Britain we live in today, but it does not have to be the Britain we accept tomorrow.
With the right priorities and political will, we can be a government—a Parliament—that offers hope. We can be the government that declares poverty is not inevitable, but unacceptable. We can and must do better. The fight to end poverty is one that I will continue to champion in Westminster, and I will work alongside my colleagues to ensure that our policies lift people out of poverty and create the conditions for a more equal society.
We are at a turning point. We have an opportunity to act. And it is time we seized it, for the sake of those who need us most.
Poverty in Glasgow North East: A Call to Action
