THE decision whether David Cameron and the Conservatives are given another five years in government will be taken across the UK.

 

Since Gordon Brown walked out of Downing Street with his wife Sarah and two sons in 2010 much has changed in Glasgow.

The city has voted in its highest number of SNP MSPs in 2011, then returned to Labour for the council elections in 2012.

The world came to visit and witness the greatest Commonwealth Games ever held and two months later Glasgow bucked the Scottish trend and voted yes in the referendum.

The city has had a remarkable five years but also for many citizens it has been the most trying with poverty increasing for thousands of households.

A look at the statistics shows at first glance a positive trend.

Average weekly pay is up, Jobseekers claimants down and the number of businesses fairly stable but jobs are down.

In 2009 there was 410,400 total jobs in Glasgow by 2010 it had fallen to 387,700 and the latest stats for 2013 show it at 386,500.

The big drop has been in full time jobs with the part time workforce increasing.

Full time workers dropped from 286,800 in 2009 to 258,800 in 2013 while part time staff increased from114,000 in 2010 to 127,000 in 2013.

Wages of those resident in the city increased modestly over the last parliament.

Gross Weekly pay Median in Glasgow residents rose from £452 in 2010 to £497 in 2014. Wages are still lagging behind the rest of the country. In Scotland, earnings rose from £486 to £518 and in the UK from £501 to £520.

Beneath the raw data, however lies the story of many people locked out of any success felt by some.

A remarkable statistic is the Trussell Trust, the biggest provider of food banks fed no-one in Glasgow five years ago.

Now it stands at 17,571 in 2014/15.

Ewan Gurr, Network Manager said: "There was literally no one who received emergency food from the Trussell Trust in 2010 in Glasgow.

Some say it has increased because the supply was there but it is definitely demand led.

It has been exacerbated by government policy. There has always been an ad hoc need for emergency food provision but never to the extent of the last few years.

We know 80% of our referrals only come the once. Some need longer support and that would be as a result of benefit sanctions.

The number who come because of low income has increased hugely.

"People who in 2010 could keep their head above water now can't pay their bills or feed their families."

Job Seeker claimants have dropped in Glasgow since 2010 by almost 10,000 but other benefit claimants have remained static.

Total claimants fell from 100,000 to 89,000, taking out the 9000 JSA decrease the fall of all benefit claimants is 2000.

Organisations dealing with poverty who are campaigning to end it have instead seen it increase and the statistics don't show those still on benefits suffering more.

They tell of growing food poverty, fuel poverty, in work poverty and related health conditions worsening as a result.

Carla McCormack, Poverty Alliance policy officer, said: "Over the past five years, Glasgow has seen a growth in the number of people using food banks and last year child poverty statistics in Scotland rose for the first time in years.

"The face of poverty has also changed as growing numbers of people are finding themselves in in-work poverty, with almost two-thirds of children in poverty living in a household where someone works.

"The Poverty Alliance's Welfare Trackers Project has held over 60 workshops in Glasgow raising awareness of welfare reform and tracking its impact on communities and front line organisations.

"These workshops have found growing evidence that households are under greater pressure and strain as they deal with the consequences of benefit changes. "