DOING the ‘big shop’. It’s something you, I and many others across the East End of Glasgow do.

Some people do it weekly, maybe on a Sunday afternoon? Some do it monthly, or now thanks to the internet, you can do your food shop from the comfort of your own home.

It’s one thing we all have in common. We all need to buy food. Whether it’s at Shettleston Aldi, Asda in the Forge or online, day in and day out people grab empty baskets or virtual trollies and fill them with the essentials they need.

However, in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, worryingly this has become somewhat of a luxury. As prices of butter, eggs, pasta and cheese skyrocket, what were traditionally affordable items are now outwith household budgets.

Having spoken to constituents about the struggles they are facing, I am all too aware of the impact soaring food costs are having on households. These costs were reflected in recent Consumer Price Index statistics, where in March of this year, food inflation rose to a 45-year high.

When I did my food shop last week, I was walking down the dairy aisle in Asda only to be confronted by £4 tubs of butter staring back at me. Nowadays when people talk about soaring food costs, their conversations usually end in some punchline or remark about the price of Lurpak. Jokes about Lurpak aside, we are in a dire situation where households are having to cut back on their food shop, or in the worst case, go without food entirely.

During all this, the Tories have diverted their attention to something they deem far more important – brandishing Union flags on home-grown produce. Just this week, more than 100 Tory MPs wrote to chief executives of supermarkets encouraging them to create a Buy British section on websites. 

Since some of my constituents in Glasgow East cannot currently afford to buy food at all, I found this hard to reconcile with. It struck me as an odd priority to say the least.

Before going any further, I want to clarify that today’s column is not to diminish or attack the work of farmers, and the integral role they play in the food supply chain we all rely on.

Despite only having one farm in my constituency, I am acutely aware of the hard work and sacrifice Scottish farmers endure to ensure food gets to our dinner tables. Indeed, I always encourage people to purchase local produce and eat seasonally where possible, as this all helps towards tackling climate change and food waste. But we are faced with out-of-touch Tories, who have no real understanding of the dread people feel when making a decision when buying food essentials, knowing they may have to go without.

What some Tory MPs appear to have forgotten is that we can celebrate our farmers and homegrown produce, whilst also taking immediate action to reduce the sky-high food prices our constituents face. These aren’t binary choices, they can easily co-exist.

Instead, the British government sits on its hands, ignoring SNP calls to tackle the ever-rising food costs that are plaguing our constituents’ purses.

There are feasible solutions that the British government can consider, similar to the action recently taken by the French government. Nearly three months ago it decided to take action against food manufacturers who, despite falls in costs, had been keeping food prices artificially inflated.

It comes as no surprise that once again the Tories have their priorities all wrong. Most people’s focus right now isn’t about where their food is coming from, it’s about if they can afford to put it in their basket. People are already purchasing own-brand items, and when they can’t afford that adjustment, they have to cut back on what they are buying entirely.

But fear not, thanks to the Tories when you are doing your online food shop and choosing between a block of cheese or a carton of eggs, at least you’ll be able to know it came from a British producer, before realising you may not be able to afford either anyway.

I can’t help but think how different things may be in an independent Scotland, where politicians understood and empathised with the reality households face, rather than out-of-touch Westminster Tories.

Perhaps the ‘big shop’ you do isn’t as big anymore. Maybe now you have to go around the aisles twice and put back what you think you might be able to live without, just so you can afford the total at the till.

The next time you’re doing a ‘big shop’ and you’re stood in the veg aisle or adding something to your virtual shopping trolley staring at the price, wondering if you are able to afford it, take a moment to remember what the Tories prioritised.

The concept of signposting people to home-grown produce is a luxury reserved to those who can afford it. For many people right now, this is far from the case.