Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar made an appearance at a Dundee foodbank today in an effort to listen to the “lived experiences” of those in Scotland’s most deprived areas.
The politician met with volunteers and users of the food bank at St Mary’s church in Lochee, where he was joined by local figures such as councillor Charlie Malone and MSP Michael Marra.
The 38-year-old, who became the leader of his party in February, says that the trip up from his home in Glasgow allowed him to meet with people living in some of Scotland’s most deprived areas and discuss policy changes they want to see put in place.
‘I’m really keen to listen’
He said: “What I’m really keen to do is get out to all parts of Scotland and listen directly to the lived experiences of people coming through the pandemic, the lived experiences of people as we head into a cost of living crisis, when we see poverty and inequality on the rise, we see injustice on the rise, we see division on the rise and actually understand people who are either on the front line having to use these services or on the front line having to deliver these services and learn what they need the priorities to be from their local authorities.
“The first thing (I’ve learned) is the immense kindness that there is and I think we saw that during the pandemic where community really pulled together to support the most vulnerable in our society.
“The other lesson though is actually why politics matters.
“The reason why politics matters is not for politicians to get into a parliament building and argue with each other and talk about what they think matters to them and try to divide communities.
“Politics is all about changing people’s lives and that’s why I want us to build a recovery that works for everyone across the whole of Scotland.”
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