Cost of Living Crisis. Winter Fuel Payment Cuts. Raids on pensions. Cronies claiming freebies. Change? Or shortchanged despite the promises of the new UK Labour Government.

There has not been much to celebrate. Or has there?

As school kids go on leave for the October Week, it’s a timely reminder of the Council Holiday Programme and the need to celebrate the work of the groups we fund to do it. Since 2018, approximately £2m has funded groups across every ward in Glasgow to deliver this.

In the North West alone 3D, Buddies Club, Drumchapel United, FARE, the Hut, LINKES, PEEK, the Play Center, and Well-Fed are keeping weans engaged and entertained through a programme of activities and nutritious food.

As detailed in the most recent evaluation report, the feedback from parents and kids speaks for itself:

“This place has been an absolute lifeline for me and my children where they played, had loads and loads of fun and they had a lunch provided with snacks to them every day. This is something I would never have afforded to do for them."

“I have made lots of new friends from other schools and we have had so much fun. I can't wait to see our big poster... I am going to take my nanna to show her, she will be so proud of me."

Very few people of course read council committee reports, so, that’s why just before the September weekend I hosted a Celebration and Learning Event at the City Chambers for groups we work with through the £56m Glasgow Communities Fund and Glasgow’s Holiday Programme.

Over 200 community groups attended to share the impact of their GCF-funded projects and inspire each other – as they did me. G15 Youth Project, Drumchapel & District Sports Centre and Drumchapel L.I.F.E are just some of the local projects funded to make a difference. And they do by providing vital services that brighten our communities and empower and lift people out of poverty.

Coinciding with the celebration event, an annual report went to committee on child poverty. Before 2017 when the SNP City Government came into power more than a third (34%) of Glasgow’s children were living in relative poverty. By working together with communities has been able to reduce this to 25%.

However, one in four children living in poverty is still one too many.

You would think?

Sadly, during the discussions Glasgow Labour thought the discussion was getting “too political” and tried to shut it down when my colleague Cllr Malcolm Mitchell responded to the shocking fact reported in the paper that in 2022/23 the cost of child poverty to public services and the Glasgow economy this lies between £823m and £1.09 billion.

Tackling poverty, in particular child poverty, is no longer on the agenda, it is the agenda for Glasgow.

Unless of course, you are a Labour politician.

Over the course of the next UK Parliament at least another £5 billion will be drained from Glasgow as Labour continues to put its foot down – not to stamp out poverty – but to accelerate the attack on the poor by its adherence to austerity.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Child Payment, funded by the SNP Scottish Government, and unique in the UK, has been called a “game-changer” by anti-poverty charities and academics across Europe, with over £677 million paid since the payment launched.

Over 51,000 children in Glasgow have benefitted from this and there is there is no cap on the number of children in one family who can receive these payments.

Part of a wider package of payments – including the three Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods – which together have provided over £829 million in vital financial support at key stages of a child’s life. It’s been estimated that families in Scotland are at least £2,500 better off on average per year as a result.

And of course, as I have highlighted before, pensioners especially women need to hold on to their ha’pennies to feed the gas meter, as Labour cut payments off, attack pensions and allow the energy companies to ramp up their profits.

If only Labour politicians were as swift in tackling poverty as they have been in getting free Taylor Swift tickets.

So, is their cause for celebration? I’m a glass-half-full person so the work of the communities we fund and the SNP positive impact on reducing poverty gives me hope.