It has been announced that the Scottish National Party MP for Glasgow East, John Mason, is to take up his party’s Work & Pensions portfolio with immediate effect.

The East End’s representative in the House of Commons has shown a keen interest in this subject since he was sworn in on 6 October, having put down parliamentary questions on subjects such as pensioner poverty, the level of unclaimed benefits, and automatic benefit payment to those who are entitled.

Speaking about his new role, John Mason said: "In my first speech to the House of Commons I said that I would judge all the Government’s proposals on whether they narrow or widen the gap between rich and poor. The struggle against poverty – both at home and abroad – is one of my priorities, so the Work & Pensions portfolio is a pretty good fit for me.

"Some progress is being made in making it easier for pensioners and others to claim the benefits to which they are entitled, and I welcome that.  But there is much more work to do.

"The message I am carrying from the East End to Westminster is that we need real action to help families to meet their gas and electricity bills this winter.  I will continue to push the UK Government for a VAT holiday on energy bills for all households."