Politicians grilled by young people on child poverty ahead of the Scottish elections

"Some of us are voting next month and the rest of us will be soon. Does your party promise to involve young people, listen to us about the things that affect us and make us part of your plans?"

Hollie from Auchenharvie Academy, Cost of the School Day Voice network

Representatives from four of the major parties running in the upcoming Scottish elections committed to further action on child poverty and youth involvement at Speak Up!, a special hustings where candidates were questioned by 50 children and young people on a range of child poverty topics.

Speak Up! was run jointly by Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, Aberlour Children's Charity and Save the Children ahead of the Scottish elections on 7 May. This event offered an invaluable opportunity for candidates to hear about young people's priorities, and for young people to hear their plans to reduce child poverty.

What young people are calling for

During a lively hustings session, young people asked the questions that really matter.

Casey from Irvine Royal Academy got straight to the point:

“Since the UNCRC is now part of Scots law, family income shouldn’t limit children’s rights to a decent standard of living. What plans does your party have to tackle child poverty?"

Caitlin from Trinity High School in Rutherglen asked about the Secondary free school meal expansion being piloted successfully in their school:

“ We would like assurance that free school meals for children receiving Scottish Child Payment will continue and be rolled out everywhere when the pilot ends, as it is not fair to take it away from families like ours who now rely on this.”

Zoe and Daisy from Braes High School in Falkirk asked how candidates would respond to young people's calls in the School Shouldn’t Cost manifesto:

“Our manifesto sets out what thousands of young people want you to be doing when it comes to making sure money doesn’t affect our time at school – things like help with school trips and food, devices, affording uniform and the right support when we need it. How do you plan to tackle the cost of the school day once and for all?”

Young people working with Aberlour Children's Charity and Save the Children also asked vital questions about the cost of living, further support for young people affected by someone else's addiction, and how parties would ensure consistent access to support for unaccompanied asylum seeking young people.

What the panel thought

Shirley-Anne Somerville (SNP), Paul McGarry (Scottish Liberal Democrats), Patrick Harvie (Scottish Green Party) and Vonnie Sandlan (Scottish Labour) took part in the panel. All agreed to keep listening to young people, and involve them in their plans.

Scottish Labour Party candidate Vonnie Sandlan said the experience was:

"Just amazing. Young people are just so engaged, smart, capable and thoughtful. Some of the questions they've come up with today just give me so much hope in terms of what our future looks like, looking out for one another, looking out for the children that are struggling the most. The fact that there's such a sense of responsibility amongst this group is really nice to hear."

Shirley-Anne Somerville from the SNP described being cross examined by the young audience:

"The questions were just absolutely spot on about what actually impacts on young people, and what they want to see politicians do. So it was a refreshing conversation and really, really challenging for the politicians. I hope they got some of the answers they were looking for tonight."

Paul McGarry, a candidate for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said that:

"It was genuine questions from people who are looking around the world, looking at what they don't like, looking at what they don't see, and pointing it out and calling it out. But also, I thought what was really useful is it was a lot of calling in. There was a lot of folk actually identifying the things and saying, here's where we think it needs to be going, and here's what we want to do to be more inclusive and fair. "

Patrick Harvie from the Scottish Green Party reflected on his takeaways from the event:

"It was really good to hear not only those that are expecting to be able to vote in the next couple of weeks, but those who are not yet at voting age, learning that fundamentally politicians have to be accountable to them. I've got the Cost of the School Day manifesto that I'm going to take away. I think most of what's there is in our manifesto as well, but I'm sure there'll be more things in there that we can carry on learning from."

Young people’s poverty and education manifesto

Many of the young people attending the hustings are part of the Cost of the School Day Voice network. Their School Shouldn’t Cost manifesto shares the views of thousands of young people about the action on poverty that would really make a difference in their schools. Over the last few weeks young people from the Voice network around Scotland have been sharing the manifesto, and its calls, with all parties. Young people’s hope is politicians from all sides of the debate understand how important the work to eradicate poverty is to them and their lives at school, and how vital it is to include young people in discussion about how things should change.

What did Voice network members think of the event?

"I think it was a really good experience to be able to hear what the different political parties plan on doing if they come into power and how they're going to tackle the things that we brought up. And I also think it was great that they were listening to the young people's questions and being able to answer on what we wanted to change."

Orla, from Braes High School in Falkirk.