Reacting to today’s speech on investing in the economy by the First Minister, Poverty Alliance chief executive Peter Kelly said: “We welcome the First Minister’s speech today. We hope it marks the start of a fundamental shift towards compassion and justice among our political leaders. We were particularly pleased that he talked about how the experience of people living in poverty has shaped his thinking.
“The UK is one of the richest countries in the world. Since the 1960s our collective wealth has trebled in size. But over the decades our political leaders have refused to unlock that wealth for the public good and to support a wellbeing economy. The results are clear for everyone to see – insecure work, inadequate incomes, rising child homelessness, deepening poverty, increasing reliance on food banks, and weakened communities.
“It doesn’t have to be like this. We built our public services – like the NHS, education, and social security – to make sure all of us have a stable foundation to build a decent life for ourselves and our households.
“Our political leaders can use our country’s massive wealth to invest in those services, building a stronger society, and an economy where no one is left in poverty.”
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