Opinionated Declan Welsh vows to fight child poverty as Children in Scotland's youngest board member

Children in Scotland have appointed one of the country’s youngest board members in 21-year-old singer/songwriter Declan Welsh.

His appointment was made as part of the charity’s commitment to ensure the decisions it makes are directly influenced by children and young people.

Despite his young years, Declan, who is studying law, is no shrinking violet.

On taking up his post today, he singled out child poverty as a problem urgently needing to be addressed.

The Glaswegian blasted: “Child poverty is an embarrassment in a country as wealthy as ours.

“People are angry over a lot of trivial things, but everyone should direct that anger at this."

The current economic climate was caused in no way by young people, yet young people bear the burden the greatest

He continued: “It’s harder than ever to find a job, and when young people leave school they often find that they have no option but to take unpaid or low wage jobs.

“Graduates, even, are faced with the prospect of entering jobs with no relevance to their degree.

“The current economic climate was caused in no way by young people, yet young people bear the burden the greatest.

“I think that finding work that pays fairly and is rewarding is not an option for far too many young people. That has to change.”

Declan, who is fast building up a following in the Glasgow music scene, was particularly buoyed by the movement which led to 16 and 17-year-olds being given the vote in Scottish Parliament election, but would like to see this extended to all elections.

Declan Welsh : Blood is Red, Flag is Blue & White from CoffeeWithALid on Vimeo.

“If you can go and fight in a war on behalf of your country, you should be able to ratify or oppose that decision made by the government of the day in a polling booth,” he continued.

Young people inherit whatever world the older generations give them, so they have to have a say in what decisions they make

“Young people and the working classes are continually ignored because they don’t vote in the numbers that the elderly or the middle classes do.

“Young people inherit whatever world the older generations give them, so they have to have a say in what decisions they make.”

Welcoming Declan to the board, Children in Scotland deputy chief executive Jacqueline Lamb said his appointment was part of the charity’s commitment to ensuring that “the decisions we make at a national level are influenced directly by children, young people and their families, as well as our members”.

She added: “These first-hand experiences are vital in helping us evidence and influence the critical work that needs to be done to secure the wellbeing of all children in Scotland."