POLITICIANS and campaigners have called on Holyrood to seize the chance to end hunger once and for all in Scotland.

Central Scotland Labour MSP Elaine Smith has lodged a final proposal in the Scottish Parliament for her Right to Food Member’s Bill which seeks to enshrine the UN-recognised human right to food into Scottish law.

Ms Smith, who will retire in May, has warned inequality and poverty have been exacerbated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and said that the time has come to put a stop to hunger across Scotland. 

She said: “No-one should be going hungry in Scotland in 2021.

“It’s high time that parliamentarians tackled this issue head on. My proposal to enshrine the UN-recognised Right to Food in Scots law would be a significant step forward in the fight against food poverty and provide a legal right to food.

“The pandemic has exacerbated the inequalities in our society. That’s why radical action such as this is necessary to halt spiralling inequality.”

The findings of a consultation on the Bill, published this week, found that 93 per cent of the 225 individuals and organisations who responded supported enshrining the right to food in law, with 84 per cent backing the establishment of an independent statutory body with responsibility for this.

The proposal also has strong support from trade unions and campaigners, with the Co-operative Party running a campaign calling for support for the legislation.

Sustainable food campaign group Nourish Scotland said that the widespread support was “encouraging” as Britain struggles with uncertainty caused by a right-wing Brexit and the effects of Covid-19. 

Nourish Scotland director Pete Ritchie said: “We need to reframe the thinking around our food system because inaction across successive political generations has led to the problems we are seeing now.”

Trade unionists have also backed the proposal, saying the law could help address the underlying causes of rising food bank use “rather than relying on charities to respond to food poverty.”

STUC general secreatary Roz Foyer said: “It should be unthinkable that in 2021 tens of thousands of people in Scotland are forced to rely on foodbanks to feed themselves and their families. 

“However, a lack of fair work and decent housing, a punitive and inadequate welfare system, and years of cuts to public services means too many people simply don’t have sufficient income to buy food.”