by Liam McLaughlan
The news reaching us here in Easterhouse today from the House of Commons is one we’ve waited for since 2010. The area has had many challenges and problems over the years, and is going a long way to shaking off some of the excess baggage and reputation that stifles so many people’s outlook on our area and one which truly doesn’t scratch the surface of what lies in communities like here. The stereotypical references to mass poverty, substance and alcohol abuse, gambling addictions and gang violence which suffocated the area for most of my upbringing are now beginning to subside. More and more people are now learning of the Easterhouse of compassion to those in need, of community solidarity and a restoration of local pride in our community. There has however been one problem we haven’t been able to shake off for the past 13 years, our area being used and abused by the right-wing media and Tory politicians to in some way legitimise and explain the motives of the changes to welfare since Iain Duncan Smith assumed responsibility at the Department for Work and Pensions, 13 years after his now infamous “Easterhouse epiphany”.
In 2013, at the Radical Independence Conference in the Marriot Hotel in Glasgow, I used my little time as a speaker in one the breakout sessions to formally invite Mr Duncan Smith to return to Easterhouse and explain and justify changes such as widespread sanctions, cuts to disability benefits, the indefensible Bedroom Tax and “fit for work” assessments that coined the description locally of being like a visit to Lourdes, all of these culminating in a sharp rise of foodbank use and homelessness both in Easterhouse and across the entire UK. Last week’s figures showing over 2,500 people have died shortly after being declared fit for work by these assessments however ramped up the pressure and led to Glasgow East SNP MP Natalie McGarry taking forward my call to now formally invite him, both in writing and in the Commons today, an invitation he has now accepted. I commend Natalie for this action, and I look forward to working with her and community activists across Easterhouse in the coming months to help prepare what is sure to be a welcome back party Mr Duncan Smith will truly never forget.
According to the Scottish Government’s Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, most parts of Easterhouse still fall within Scotland’s 5% most disadvantaged localities. 13 years have passed, but life for the poorest and most vulnerable in Easterhouse and across the UK has never been more difficult. Now is time for the fantastic people of Easterhouse to reclaim our community and say loudly, proudly and with one voice: Mr Duncan Smith’s reforms? Not In Our Name.
Liam McLaughlan is an Easterhouse activist, candidate for the 2015 General Election for Glasgow East. He was elected to the SSP’s Executive Committee.