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Published by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

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Scots want wealth equality

This news post is about 8 years old
 

​Poll shows vast majority of Scots support wealth redistribution.

Scotland is too unequal – and wealth should be distributed better across the country.

That’s the finding of a major new poll by Oxfam, which shows that almost 80% of people want to see better equality of income.

The vast majority also said politicians should be doing more to address inequality.

Oxfam Scotland released the findings as it unveiled a new campaign aimed at encouraging political parties to adopt more radical policy measures in the lead up to the Holyrood elections in May.

Jamie Livingstone, head of Oxfam Scotland, said: "At a time when nearly one in five people in Scotland live in poverty, it is encouraging to see such support for more action to reduce economic inequality in Scotland.

"We agree, because we are increasingly aware of the barrier extreme inequality creates to tackling poverty.

"Not all political power rests in Scotland, but the Scottish Parliament can do more and this poll suggests Scots back a much more even distribution of wealth."

The Even It Up campaign was launched on Burns Day on Monday to "invoke the spirit" of the Robert Burns and his famous plea for equality, A Man's A Man For A' That.

Folk singer Sheena Wellington, who performed the song at the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, is supporting the campaign.

She said: "It's completely appropriate that Oxfam Scotland is launching this campaign with the words of Robert Burns. His belief in the fundamental equality of every human being shines through in his work - and especially in A Man's A Man.

"I wish Oxfam all the very best with the Even It Up campaign, and hope that the Scottish Parliament can play its part in moving to a fairer Scotland in a fairer world, where people's chances in life aren't blighted by poverty and extreme inequality."