Glasgow to host ‘largest’ summit on cost-of-living crisis

Glasgow will host a summit on the cost-of-living crisis, which is being described as the largest of its kind in Scotland.

Trade unions and poverty campaigners have organised the summit on Friday to call for the Scottish Government to go further in tackling the issue.

Headed by the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) and the Poverty Alliance, the summit will bring together more than 40 civic organisations.

They will develop a joint platform on how to tackle the crisis.

STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said: "Poverty is a political choice. The pandemic has exposed the deep-rooted inequalities across Scotland, exacerbated by a cost-of-living crisis not of workers' choice nor making.

"We cannot - and will not - be held responsible for the negligence of our political class in their failures to tackle rising inflation coupled with falling wages.

"This summit, the largest seen in Scotland on this crisis, calls for the Scottish Government to go further, using the powers of the parliament to mitigate this emergency.

"Their recent spending review plans to foist harmful cuts on our public services is utterly incompatible with the response needed to help those impacted by this crisis."

She continued: "Whilst the UK Government are still firmly within our sights - and we will be front and centre at the national demonstration outside Westminster parliament this Saturday - we will be unrelenting and unapologetic in our resistance to this crisis until further action is taken."

Peter Kelly, director of the Poverty Alliance, said: "The only way that we can make lasting change when it comes to poverty, is through co-operation and solidarity.

"By bringing together trade unions and voluntary and community groups, we want to build a movement that puts compassion and justice at the heart of public life, in our communities, in Holyrood, and in Westminster."

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