A time for action

For many anti-poverty campaigners, the result of the EU referendum will have been a bitter blow – it will feel like a step backwards in the fight against poverty. In many ways the impact of the decision to leave will not be known, or felt, for some time but already we are getting indications that it is the poorest in our society who will pay the price for economic uncertainty. The Poverty Alliance has been an active member of the European Anti Poverty Network (EAPN) for more than twenty years, and we believe that tackling poverty requires co-ordination at all levels – including European. For us, tackling poverty is about solidarity; it is the idea that we should all care for and take care of each other. Unfortunately, it has become clear that in recent years we have lost some of that solidarity, both within the UK and across Europe. Reversing this will require a fundamental change in attitudes, and that is partly what drives our ‘Stick Your Labels Campaign’, but changing attitudes takes time and there are issues that must be addressed now.  It is these issues that we refer to in our recent briefing on Scotland and the EU, which can be read here.

We believe that EU migrants have made a positive contribution to both our economy and our society

The first issue which needs to be addressed is the potential negative impact that leaving the EU will have on employment.  We believe that the Scottish Government must use powers over employment to ensure that jobs in Scotland are protected, and should invest in high quality, well paid jobs. It is important that we do not see a decline in people’s working conditions as a result of the vote. Like our colleagues at the Scottish Human Rights Commission, we are concerned that the referendum will result in a reduction of the protection of social rights contained in the Charter of Fundamental Rights such as workers’ rights, access to healthcare and social security[1]. The Scottish Government must work with the UK Government to ensure that these rights are protected. Migration was a key issue during the referendum debate but all too often it was portrayed in only a negative light. We believe that EU migrants have made a positive contribution to both our economy and our society. It is important that this contribution is recognised, and that EU migrants are afforded the same rights and protections as any other member of our society. Finally, the Scottish and UK Governments must also give consideration as to how they will continue to support regional development. The EU has played an important role in providing funding for this and in turn this funding has been essential in seeking to reduce regional inequalities. These are only some of the issues that need to be examined over the coming weeks and months, and the Poverty Alliance has highlighted others in our briefing paper. Overall, we believe that it is now more important than ever that we refocus on key issues such as inequality, rising housing costs, food insecurity and in work poverty. Since the economic crisis, we have seen successive governments make spending cuts that are detrimental to the lives of people experiencing poverty. It is important that whatever happens next does not result in a worsening of conditions for families living on low incomes. [1] Scottish Human Rights Commission (2016) Protecting human rights in Scotland in a changing relationship with Europe