Peter Capaldi warns Holyrood: child poverty action is not enough
Peter Capaldi has stepped into the Holyrood election debate, urging politicians to confront the “gaping holes” in efforts to tackle child poverty across Scotland. The actor said he was “horrified” by the scale of poverty affecting children in Scotland and across the UK, and he pressed the next Scottish Government to go further. His comments came as he backed calls for stronger action on school hunger and child poverty ahead of the election in May 2026 ET.
Capaldi backs action, but says more is needed
In a direct intervention aimed at the next Holyrood administration, Peter Capaldi praised the Scottish Government’s plan to expand breakfast clubs to all primary school children by 2027, but said that commitment alone would not be enough. He said there should be no reason why any child starts the day “too hungry to learn, ” framing the issue as one of both urgency and fairness.
Capaldi, who portrayed the 12th incarnation of the Doctor in the programme and is also known for his role as Malcolm Tucker in the political comedy The Thick of It, said he does not endorse a political party. Instead, he urged voters to hold elected representatives accountable and to demand practical policies that support children, families, and schools.
What he said about growing up in Glasgow
Writing exclusively for a politics newsletter, Peter Capaldi reflected on his childhood in a tenement in the east of Glasgow. He said he did not grow up in poverty, but he saw it around the city, and he recalled a stronger sense of community during the mid-1960s than he sees today.
He argued that the country needs political parties that recognise the gaps in community structures and offer “commitment, solutions and policies” to repair them. He added that feeding children and investing in their future is among the most important responsibilities in public life.
Capaldi also backed a child poverty campaign calling for the Scottish Child Payment to rise to £40 per week, tying his intervention to the wider debate over how Scotland should respond to hardship affecting young people.
Immediate reaction and wider context
Capaldi’s comments were made against the backdrop of a wider push to improve breakfast provision in schools. He described the Scottish Government’s breakfast club pledge as an “encouraging move, ” while noting that the rollout in England has already been accelerated this month.
In a separate extract from the same newsletter, Peter Capaldi said he was horrified to learn that so many children start the day hungry and unsupported when he began working with Magic Breakfast and visited schools. The campaign group’s work, he said, offers a calm and positive start to the school day and shows that practical help is possible.
What happens next
With the Holyrood election due in May 2026 ET, Capaldi’s intervention adds a high-profile voice to the debate over child poverty and school support. His message is clear: breakfast clubs are a start, but the next Scottish Government must do more if it wants to build a future where every child can begin the day fed, focused, and ready to learn, and where Peter Capaldi believes Scotland’s future is judged by how it treats its youngest children.
