CAMPAIGNERS are calling on the next UK Government to introduce measures to stem the “national scandal” of poverty.

An anti-poverty manifesto, published today, is demanding that solutions to the problem are put at the heart of Government policies.

With more than one million people – including almost one in four children – living in the grip of poverty in Scotland, the Poverty Alliance manifesto seeks to not only to influence the actions of the next UK Government, but also ensure that poverty is one of the key election issues in the lead-up to the December 12 General Election.

The manifesto calls for a more compassionate social security system, the creation of a labour market that works for everyone and protection from the effects of Brexit for people on low incomes.

Key demands include introducing UK-wide poverty reduction targets as well as a legally-binding commitment to maintaining and strengthening workers’ rights post-Brexit.

Righting The Wrongs: A Manifesto To Tackle Poverty also says there should be an end to the five-week wait for Universal Credit, the removal of the two-child limit and a rise in benefit levels, including increasing child benefit by at least £5 per child per week.

In-work, poverty should be tackled by boosting workers’ wages and taking action against insecure work, the document states.

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Poverty Alliance director Peter Kelly said it was “outrageous” that so many people had been swept into poverty in recent years.

“Figures released last week show that record numbers of people are now using foodbanks. This simply cannot go on,” he said.

“The General Election gives us the opportunity to look at what we can do to address this national scandal and to place solving poverty firmly at the heart of the next government’s agenda.

“Communities across Scotland need our political parties to listen to our calls, and to commit themselves to loosening the grip of poverty on people’s lives.”

Jamie Clark, a community activist from Glasgow, said he knew “all too well” about the struggle of raising a family on a low income.

“Living in poverty is like being stuck in the middle of a spider’s web with no escape route,” he said.

“You can climb further up the web to try and get out but something keeps dragging you back. Low pay, insecure work, zero-hours contracts and a punitive social security system make it very difficult to escape.”

He added: “That’s the trap of poverty. Political parties need to wake up to this and take the action we need.”

The call for action comes as new figures show that the number of children living below the breadline in the UK – despite being in a working family – has increased by 38% since the decade began.

Child poverty in working households is up by 800,000 since 2010 across the country, according to the TUC, with more than 485,000 children in working households pushed below the breadline.

In Scotland, the number of children in working households who are living in poverty has grown by nearly 10,000 over the last decade, from a total of 112,075 in 2010 to 121,925 last year.

The Westminster government’s in-work benefit cuts account for most of the increase, according to TUC research.

In 2016, the Conservatives abolished the Child Poverty Act and scrapped targets to reduce poverty.