Fed-up Dundonians took aim at local politicians over the real-life impacts of the cost of living crisis.
The BBC’s Debate Night programme was in the city on Wednesday night, giving local residents to air their thoughts on hot topics with decision makers.
Top of the audience’s agenda was the impact of Prime Minister Liz Truss’s “mini budget”, particularly when it comes to food banks and mortgages.
Drug deaths also featured highly in the debate – one audience member even branded the issue the Scottish Government’s “dirty little secret”.
‘Kids are going to school hungry’
Audience members told the panel poverty is a major concern.
Dundee is one of the most deprived cities in Scotland, with Linlathen and Midcraigie being among the 10 most deprived communities in the while country.
One audience member who works at a food bank in the city said the SNP is not delivering on its promise to support children from low-income families.
He said: “I see food bank [queues] getting longer and longer at the local community I work in.
“Kids are going to school hungry every week.
“What is the Scottish Government going to do to help these needy families?”
Last year alone saw 52 drug deaths in Dundee.
Local poet and author Gary Robertson, who was on the panel, recounted his experience of having to clean out a house that had been used as a drug den.
He said: “These people are lost souls who started off life and got lost along the way.
“I have seen it first hand and it is very depressing – I went to a house to clear it out and it was a whole drug den.
“It was harrowing to see needles lying about with kids toys – what kind of environment are these kids growing up in?”
‘Dirty little secret’
He said a lack of good jobs in the city is one of the reasons Dundee has such a prevalence of drug problems.
Another audience member, who sits on a drugs panel, said: “This has gone on for too long and the Scottish Government is turning a blind eye to this dirty little secret.”
And a university student told the panel the cost of living crisis is making her worry for her future prospects.
She said: “When I finish university I am not sure what the finance situation will be like, especially what I will be able to afford and what jobs I will be able to get.”
‘It’s going to be pretty mental’
Other Dundonians said they feared the impact the chancellor’s tax cuts will have on their own lives.
One said he was looking to buy his first home with his partner but is worried he will no longer be able to.
He said: “I am renting with my girlfriend at the moment but if this gets out of control, do we go ahead?
“At the same time it is going to be pretty mental this winter so I am not sure what to do at the moment.”
‘Extreme’ choices
Dundee East SNP MP Stewart Hosie blamed Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng for the financial pressures.
Stewart Hosie MPSome of the chancellor’s announcements include cutting stamp duty, abolishing the top rate of income tax and cutting the basic rate of income tax.
The policies focus on England but leave the SNP Government looking at their own spending plans and tax bands as a gap emerges north and south.
Mr Hosie said: “This is extreme, experimental, right-wing, think tank choices and the consequences of that will cost £45 billion.
“You will all be paying for that extra borrowing for decades to come or another decade of austerity.
“This is a disaster and if the Scottish Government is invited to follow suit I hope the cabinet secretary for finance politely declines.”
He said “nothing is off the table” when it comes to tackling drug deaths in the city, and said the UK Government’s approach to safe drug consumption rooms is a “disgrace” and “costing people’s lives”.
North East Conservative MSP Douglas Lumsden defended the chancellor’s statement, saying the actions Mr Kwarteng has taken will give people more money in their pockets.
