Star Project in Paisley call on MPs to stop "horrendous" cuts to welfare state
Anti-poverty campaigners from Renfrewshire are pleading with MPs to end crippling financial despair in local communities after they marched on Westminster.
Heather Kay, from the Star Project, and resilience development worker Sarah Findlay pleaded with their local representatives to come and hear firsthand from people who are living far below the breadline.
The charity workers were part of an army of campaigners who descended on the House of Commons to demand an Essentials Guarantee – to increase universal credit so that it covers the cost of daily living.
But the inability to make welfare payments stretch far enough is something the Star Project has been shouting about for years.
The organisation – which tackles the causes and symptoms of poverty from its base in Paisley – is now demanding an audience with MPs who are being asked to vote on welfare cuts in parliament.
Heather said: 'We were in Westminster because we were speaking to MPs about how people's essentials need to be guaranteed. We have heard so many stories so far that are terrifying, of people going without and it can't be allowed to continue.
'We know in 2022 in our own community how someone died of starvation, that will not happen again.
'There are all sorts of horrendous budget cuts that have been suggested, but we are here to talk about the very basics that people need, that should be higher, the income should be much better [not reduced].'
The Westminster lobby day was organised by Trussell Trust and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in partnership with IFAN, the Independent Food Aid Network.
Collectively, they asked the UK Government to increase the basic rate of universal credit in April 2026 and not April 2029 as proposed, arguing people 'simply can't wait that long'.
They also demanded that an independent organisation be appointed to truly establish a reasonable income for those in receipt of benefits to ensure it really is enough to cover daily essentials.
Heather has invited MPs Alison Taylor and Johanna Baxter to the Star hub on Wallace Street so they can hear first hand from the people who are receiving universal credit.
She added: 'There are basic human rights like having a safe roof over your head and enough food to eat but the reality is for some of our members, they don't have that, they don't have the basics.
'We have food attached to all our workshops because we know people are skipping meals, they don't have enough food to eat. The reality is you can't teach people to budget what they don't have, the income just isn't enough. By the time these people come to Star they are in a blind panic, they don't know where else to go.'
Ms Baxter, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, was unable to attend the Lobby event in Westminster but has already committed to visiting the Star Project in the near future.
Ms Baxter told the Paisley Daily Express: 'I look forward to seeing the work of the Star Project firsthand and speaking directly with those they support about the issues that matter to them.
'I am acutely aware that the cost of living is the biggest challenge for families across Paisley and Renfrewshire, which is why I am pleased that this Labour government is stepping up to support those most in need.
'In the last number of weeks, the government has given those on the lowest wages a pay rise with the increase to the minimum wage, introduced a £150 Warm Homes Discount rebate on energy bills for more than 240,000 homes across Scotland and provided an extra £9.1 billion to boost Scottish public services.'
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