We don’t believe the cure for divided communities is further division

“To be truly radical is to make hope possible, rather than despair convincing.”

This quote from Welsh writer and academic Raymond Williams is more relevant now than ever. In 21st century Britain it can sometimes feel like our society’s problems are overwhelming – put on the tv, look on social media it’s all negative, draining, and dispiriting.

So let me start with a simple statement of belief – creating a better Scotland, one where every individual, every family, every community has the opportunity to thrive and prosper, is something that we can really achieve.

I believe we can create a society and economy where everyone has a job with fair pay, where we can all afford to put the heating on, where the kids are safe and well fed, where social care meets our parents needs and where we can enjoy fulfilling healthy lives.

For me, there are two things that fundamentally underpin many of the challenges that our society faces, and that if we begin to fix them, we will start to unlock the solutions to some of these problems.

The first thing is the continued existence of widespread poverty and inequality. The second is the decline in trust that we have in our politicians and institutions. These two issues impact on all our lives and communities.

Peter Kelly | Alan Rennie

We see the evidence of that poverty all around us. We know that too many people are cut off from life’s essentials, too many are going hungry, and too many are without a home. Too many people are struggling to survive in an economy that just doesn’t work for them. Just last month Trussell Trust released a report that said 1 million people Scots were ‘food insecure’ and at some point skipped meals or cut back on food.

It can’t be right that so many people don’t know where their next meal is coming from. No country can build a decent future when so many people cannot afford the basic necessities.

In these circumstances people look to our politicians for change but they just don’t get it. They look to our politicians for hope, but are told things are likely to get worse.

The result is that people switch off and withdraw, or turn to opportunists who will happily exploit their disappointment to further increase division.

But what could happen if it was concern about our common humanity that drove our actions. What if it was tackling the inequities of poverty that was central to the decisions politicians make?

The Scottish Child Payment, and the campaign by charities, faith groups and trade unions that led to its introduction, shows what happens when we work together in a different way.

We all worked together to use the new powers of the Scottish Parliament to introduce the Scottish Child Payment, now keeping at least 40,000 children out of poverty in Scotland.

Too often we hear of strategies, action plans and working groups when what we really need is political delivery.

It is failure to deliver that is central to the decline in the trust of politicians and institutions.

Issues like the lack of decent housing, poverty and hunger, can seem like problems where the solutions are too difficult, costly or unpopular.

I wholeheartedly reject that. These are problems that our society has created, we can collectively fix them.

That is why we launched the Scotland Demands Better campaign bringing together organisations and people from across Scotland to push for greater change.

More than 260 organisations have signed up to the campaign as we build towards a major march and rally in Edinburgh on the 25 th of October.

Central to the campaign is the call for better jobs for those who need them, decent pay and conditions, investment in life’s essentials and a social security system that provides a firm foundation for life.

The campaign is an attempt to accelerate or deepen some of the many changes we want to see. There is a growing sense of frustration and anger at the lack of progress.

We want policy makers and politicians to understand that we are not only consultees or stakeholders, we are a movement with connections in all parts of Scottish society – and that when we speak, we are serious and we have a voice .

We want people to march alongside friends, neighbours, colleagues and workmates and drown out extreme and divisive views that are far too often trumpeted and multiplied by the mainstream and social media.

Scotland Demands Better is an alternative division. We seek to build a better future for all in Scotland. We don’t believe the cure for divided communities is further division. We believe the cure is politicians rebuilding trust in politics by delivering on the changes that are required.

Our march and rally will be a celebration of hope, will be a demonstration of defiance against the divisive and negativity that dominates politics now. It will be a march for all of us, and a rally with face painting, music as well as speeches. It will be an event that we hope will build a greater sense of there being an anti-poverty movement in Scotland driving real and lasting change.

After the rally, the campaign won’t stop. We will be redoubling our efforts to put pressure on the parties in Scotland ahead of the elections next year, and we will continue to lobby the UK Government for action.

It’s not going to be easy, it won’t happen overnight, it won’t happen because of one demo, it will happen if we all stand together.

Peter Kelly is the Chief Executive of the Poverty Alliance