Scotland is unequal

The gulf between the haves and have nots in Scotland is deepening

A new report from Oxfam reveals that in Scotland, the richest one per cent has more wealth than the bottom 50 per cent combined.

In Scotland, the ten richest families or individuals were last year estimated to have a combined wealth of £14.7bn. 

The Sunday Times annual Rich List placed the Grant-Gordon whisky family as the richest in Scotland, with a fortune of £2.37bn, with Highland Spring owner Mahdi al-Tajir listed as having an overall fortune of £1.67bn.

Oil industry leader Sir Ian Wood and family are said to be worth £1.6bn and the Thomson family, owners of publisher DC Thomson, £1.285bn.

Meanwhile, around 430,000 Scots were paid less than the living wage of £8.45 per hour last year, with women outnumbering men by around 100,000. More than a quarter of a million Scots children – working out at one in four - are officially recognised as living in poverty.

The problem appears to be growing, with Scottish Government figures last year showing 1.05m people in Scotland were living in relative poverty after having paid their housing costs – a rise of two per cent on the previous year.