Will Labour or the SNP serve Scots and their families

The SNP’s child payment policy covers all children, whereas Labour can’t even commit to abolishing the two-child benefit cap, writes Sue Hawthorne. However, Alex Gallagher and Mark Openshaw are less enthused about the SNP’s record

Dani Garavelli says the Scottish National party has not eradicated child poverty in Scotland (The SNP’s woes are a boost for Starmer. But he’s not promising the change Scotland wants, 27 May). Maybe not, but it has made great strides in this direction, within the budgetary constraints imposed by Westminster. The Scottish child payment is the policy of the SNP-led Holyrood government and is paid to all families on benefits in Scotland at £26.70 per week per child. And all children in primary 1 to 5, at schools run by their local council or funded by the Scottish government, can get free school lunches in term-time. Moreover, money has been invested into this to ensure that the meals are of good quality.

As Garavelli goes on to say, Keir Starmer will not even commit to abolishing the two-child benefit cap. Child poverty is a scandal in a rich country like the UK, but it is less of a scandal in Scotland than elsewhere. No one in Scotland who cares about this should vote Labour.
Sue Hawthorne
Haddington, East Lothian