This article appears as part of the Unspun: Scottish Politics newsletter.

We have already entered a new era of ‘Guns or Butter’. Scotland’s own Lord Robertson, the former Labour defence secretary and ex-Nato chief, is eyeballing welfare cuts to fund defence. 

Evidently, Britain needs protecting and there must be investment in a military degraded beyond measure by years of Tory misrule. But at what cost? 

Do we reduce our poorest to even meaner states of penury to build Fortress Britain? There must be balance. What is the point of defending our democracy if our democracy devastates the lives of millions?

Hunger is alive and well in Britain. I know of mothers who work two jobs yet have dropped multiple dress sizes by going hungry to feed their children. Food banks are a staple of this country to the shame of us all.

Hunger will get worse. Britain’s government has warned that food shortages could occur. The price of bread is about to increase as the cost of wheat rises thanks to Donald Trump’s war with Israel against Iran.

It is to the credit of John Swinney and the SNP that a manifesto pledge has been made to introduce price caps on essential food items in order to protect the poorest in this age of poverty and fear. 

Inevitably, critics merely skimmed the headlines, not the substance, before condemning the proposals as ‘wokery gone mad’. 

No policy is perfect. But all policies, even those we instinctively disagree with, deserve a hearing. Sadly, that art has been lost in Scotland.

The........

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