In a warehouse in the heart of his old constituency, Gordon Brown is riffling through boxes full of toothpaste and musing about how times have changed since he was a Labour chancellor with an anti-poverty mission.
Toothpaste, along with shampoo, toilet rolls and sanitary towels, are just some of the basic goods provided in a “bank of banks” scheme the former prime minister helped set up in Lochgelly in Fife. The Big Hoose project offers not only food, but clothing, bedding, toiletries, and anything else a struggling household may need during a cost of living crisis.
