SCOTTISH SOCIALISTS CONDEMN NEW LABOUR FAILURE ON POVERTY

The Scottish Socialist Party today responded to a new report on poverty in Scotland which shows that after 5 ½ years of New Labour, poverty has risen from 21.5 % to 23.5 %.
The report by the New Initiatives Foundation funded by the Rowntree Foundation is a damning indictment of the first five years of New Labour.

Scottish Socialist Party Press Officer Hugh Kerr who spoke at the launch and is a former university lecturer in social policy, said,
“This report is devastating as it shows that New Labour has failed the poor in Scotland. All their anti-poverty measures of the last few years have failed to tackle the real causes of poverty, low wages, lousy social security benefits and poverty pensions. Only when we address those, will we eradicate poverty, but that requires a political will that New Labour lacks.”

Tommy Sheridan MSP said,

“Today we learn that Tony Blair has bought two flats in Bristol for £270,000 each as a speculative measure. This is the real face of New Labour greed and corruption and neglect of the poor.”
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For more information, contact Tommy Sheridan on 07887 795075 or Hugh Kerr on 0131 348 5631/07713 063647