It is clear that the cost-of-living crisis is damaging people’s lives and this weekend’s YouGov polling puts the grim reality of the suffering into brutal facts and figures.
It is shameful that more than a million Scots have to choose between heating and eating.
Some are sitting in the dark, while one desperate pensioner has had to choose between food and charging their mobility scooter.
There will be long-term consequences of this crisis.
Going without basic needs causes both physical and mental health problems. And our NHS will be even more overloaded.
The cause of this suffering is clear. As Scottish Labour MSP Daniel Johnson put it: “The working people of Britain did not cause this crisis – this Tory government did.”
The working people of Scotland do not deserve to have their quality of life reduced because the Tories refuse to properly tax the rich.
The Conservative Party is unable to deal with this problem. They have a complete lack of understanding or empathy about what it truly means to either cut back or go without.
They have had 13 years in government and they have run out of excuses.
Our public services have become so run down that they are close to breaking point. Wages have stagnated and now more than one million Scots are having to choose between heating and eating.
It does not need to be this way – it is possible to have a higher quality of life, with better public services in a country that prioritises working people.
But only if the Tories are out of office.
Money to burn
The NHS is facing a crisis and needs all the money it can get its hands on to improve the service.
So it is astonishing that more than £1million has been spent on an A&E consultant who has been suspended for over six years.
The £115,000 spent on Dr Richard MacCallum’s wage is bad enough but the £1500-a-day fee for locums to replace him is eye-watering.
Dr MacCallum has not only been earning a good wage, he has even managed to complete a law degree during his time off.
Due process must be carried out and it’s understandable for someone to be suspended while an investigation is ongoing.
But the internal probe has taken nearly 10 times longer than it usually should. And it is the health service which suffers.
As hospitals spiral from one cost-driven disaster to another, it is absurd for such a senior doctor to be paid to sit at home.
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