I NOTICED two large over-flowing boxes near the tills the other day when I was shopping in a well-known supermarket chain.

One box was full of toys, books, and games, all ear-marked for local children facing many and varied challenges; the other, a food bank box, filled to the brim with mince pies, tinned fish, packets of soup and the like. I watched as people passed with their trolleys, stopping to add items to these boxes, ordinary folk out doing their shopping, but full of the spirit of Christmas.

Contrast this scene with that set by the recent raft of Scottish Tory MPs visiting food banks for what can only be described as distasteful social media photo ops. Since the start of the Christmas season, I’ve seen photos of them posing with some uncomfortable looking supermarket staff in their food bank donation areas. What blatant hypocrisy, and what an extraordinary lack of self-awareness.

They must surely know that the number of three-day emergency food supplies issued to children has increased by 2792 per cent under their governance, according to recent research published by The Trussell Trust? Of course, the situation has got so out of control that the Department of Work and Pensions recently admitted that they no longer keep tabs on the number of food bank users in the UK. The Conservatives can’t even bring themselves to collate data on the true extent of their self-created, cruel and callous economic policies.

With Christmas just around the corner, The Trussell Trust has stated that people are struggling to afford even the most basic of essential items such as toothpaste and feminine hygiene products. The trust’s data, collected from food bank users, shows that most people (over 42 per cent) end up needing their help due to welfare cuts, with fears that this Christmas, the demand for their services will be bigger than ever due to the epic failure of Tory social policy.

The work these food banks do across the country is incredible, providing a much-needed lifeline for people in desperate times and it’s heart-warming to see shoppers stretch their own weekly budgets to include items for donation. But the fact remains, in modern Britain with a properly managed welfare system and people paying tax correctly and fairly, there should be no need for this kind of charity.

The Tories may refuse to admit responsibility, but anyone desperately waiting for their Universal Credit payment, or not able to buy food or heat their homes due to welfare cuts, sanctions or delays, knows where the fault lies. Last month, research published by the BMJ linked more than 120,000 deaths in the UK directly to Tory-led austerity. These shocking numbers were released into the public domain the same week as The Herald announced Ruth Davidson as their Politician of the Year. I’m not sure what counts these days as putting you in a winning position for this kind of accolade, but surely supporting policies that lead to actual deaths among the population can’t be one of them.

Thankfully, the irony of austerity-promoting Conservatives praising the good work done by foodbanks has not been lost on voters.

Since their questionable “success” at the snap General Election in June, the Scottish Tories at all levels, Westminster, Holyrood and local government, have fallen prey to a series of racism and bigotry scandals close to home and incontrovertible revelations on the true disastrous effect of their party’s economic and social policies. Surely the leader of a Scottish political party should be doing everything in their power to protect their country’s economy, to protect jobs, to protect the most vulnerable while ridding themselves of unacceptable behaviour and attitudes? And yet, this is the exact opposite of what the Scottish Conservatives are doing.

In the real world, away from politics and meetings at polished wood tables in lofty halls, actual ordinary people are struggling to make ends meet, wondering how to make it to the end of the month without charitable help.

They’re failing to pay their fuel bills and are at the end of their tether. I’m proud of the Scots who dig deep into their pockets throughout the year to help their fellow citizens and I’m proud to belong to a party that wants to end inequality and poverty to create a fairer Scotland. The Scottish Government is doing everything in its power to protect us from the very worst of Tory austerity with initiatives like the Scottish Welfare Fund which helps more than 265,000 households in Scotland, restoring Council Tax support, and protecting assistance for disabled people with the Scottish Independent Living Fund.

Just imagine what they could do with full powers, in an independent Scotland, free from the constraints of Westminster rule. Just imagine a Scotland without the need for food banks or dependency on donations from already stretched yet deeply kind families. That’s the kind of Scotland I’d like to see, not just for Christmas but for the future too.