THE UK is in a collective bad dream.

We are in a small dark room with several doors but each one is locked.

There are keys to each door but they are in the hands of people who do not want to use them.

That is the situation we found this week when MPs, after making a song and dance about taking over the order of business at Westminster to find a route that would be able to command a majority, failed spectacularly.

Eight different solutions were put forward and eight different solutions were defeated. It is shambolic.

Meanwhile, a new report shows another 10,000 children have been added to the total living in poverty in Scotland.

Meanwhile, the number of families going to foodbanks is rising with a food parcel of tinned meat, pasta and rice handed out every six minutes in Glasgow.

Meanwhile, the number of people in temporary accommodation without somewhere to call home continues to grow.

Every day it seems the business at Westminster is taken up by Brexit.

And on Wednesday, the Scottish Parliament too, spent hours on a debate to tell the Westminster Parliament what to do.

Then yesterday, the Scottish Tory stand-in leader, Jackson Carlaw, reached new heights of ridiculousness by using his time at First Ministers Questions to try and somehow blame the SNP for the Brexit mess.

There may be plenty of things you can lay at the door of the Scottish Government, but it takes a serious stockpile of Brasso to shine the neck that that is stuck out to say that the SNP is to blame for the current shambles.

Mr Carlaw didn’t ask about the 10,000 extra children in poverty but then he and his colleagues rarely do.

It was left to Labour leader, Richard Leonard, and Greens co leader, Alison Johnstone, to raise it.

The bad news for those living in poverty worrying how they will feed their children, pay the rent or put money on the power card is they will have to wait a while longer.

The Scottish Government’s new income supplement policy is not ready to be implemented and won’t be for years yet.

The First Minister in response to questions said she will “reflect” on the child poverty figures, she had “sympathy” with organisations wanting a £5 child benefit top up and agreed with the “sentiments” of Ms Johnstone when she asked why it would be 2022 before income supplement could be ready.

Reflection doesn’t pay the rent, sympathy doesn’t feed a child and sentiment doesn’t heat a home.

People can’t wait they need action now.

While it is clear that the current Westminster Government does not care and looking at the potential successors it doesn’t look good for the foreseeable future.

Boris Johnson won’t lift a finger to help anyone other than himself, the others are unlikely to put poverty at the top of their in-box either.

And if opinion polls are correct Jeremy Corbyn will not be taking over should there be an election.

So, it is down to The Scottish Government to do what it can to alleviate what is a real crisis in people’s lives.

The income supplement is more than what the UK Government is doing, whose welfare reform and universal Credit is turning a crisis into a catastrophe

We need more urgency.