An SNP MP has hit out at the "appalling" situation that means a family in her constituency have no money to buy their children presents this Christmas.
Alison Thewliss, MP for Glasgow Central, raised the plight of the family as a stark warning about the working poor, as MPs debated how to tackle child poverty.
Labour and SNP MPs went on to say there was "an orgy of consumption" at Christmas, as they pledged to remember those who will struggle over the festive season.
Ms Thewliss told the debate in Westminster Hall that her constituents had been in touch for assistance "because they have no money for Christmas presents for their children".
She added: "I can't imagine the heartbreak that must cause for parents, to know that they just don't have the money, that Santa won't come to their door, that those kids are going to wake up on Christmas morning perhaps with nothing at all.
"The way that we have in our country just now stigmatised those families, even allowing us to reach that situation, is nothing short of appalling.
"The family I mentioned have no recourse to public funds. The mother is working, but she just can't work enough to bring in enough money to pay the bills and to put food on the table, and to provide Christmas presents for their children.
"This is the reality of families in the UK today, in the sixth richest nation on earth."
She cited the Resolution Foundation, which suggested as many as 100,000 more working households could fall below the poverty line by 2020.
She also pointed to cuts to universal credit, which she said meant some households would have to work the equivalent of an extra month each year just to maintain their income levels.
Former shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Goodman said: "It's very easy at Christmas time for there to be an orgy of consumption, and we do need to think about those other families who are not going to share in that."
The SNP's Carol Monaghan, MP for Glasgow North West, said: "Most of us will be celebrating Christmas with extravagance and excess.
"I think it's very important that we consider that there are many who will struggle through the festive season."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel