Scope Articles

Teachers in our schools: the extent of the religious divide revealed

10 May 2019

A major piece of research into the one profession where it is still lawful to discriminate on the grounds of religion has just been published.

A modern approach to modern slavery

10 May 2019

The last Stormont mandate was abandoned before it got into stride. However, it still made changes to local policy, reflected in the new Modern Slavery Strategy.

Why social mobility is going backwards

3 May 2019

Improving social mobility is a central policy objective of all mainstream political parties.

If you want to improve the benefits system, speak up

Prof. Eileen Evason (centre) along with Barry McVeigh (left) and Kevin Higgins (right), both members of her team that produced the Welfare Reform mitigation report, and the then First and deputy First Ministers

2 May 2019

The IFS says Universal Credit will lower the incomes of millions of people and that the welfare reform “hits the persistently poor the hardest on average.” But change is possible.

The boardroom revolution is underway

26 Apr 2019

Boards in Northern Ireland are dominated by middle aged and older people. Most of them are middle class men from a managerial background.

The first major effort at citizen’s income has some surprises

24 Apr 2019

Preliminary results are in from Finland’s experiment with a Universal Basic Income. The findings are mixed, interesting, and should arouse everyone’s curiosity.

Childcare in NI: parents and providers are both working too hard

12 Apr 2019

Northern Ireland is the UK’s poor cousin when it comes to childcare. Fixes to the sector’s struggling financial structure need legislation.

Brexit and the crisis in democracy

10 Apr 2019

Just how much has Brexit damaged peoples’ attitudes both to politicians and parliamentary democracy? We got the answer this week and it makes for uncomfortable, at times disturbing, reading.

Brexit doesn’t mean Brexit

What kind of world do we want? Photo by João Silas on Unsplash

4 Apr 2019

The great political divide of our time – ahead of the traditional left vs right, and even existential concerns about the environment – is about globalisation vs nationalism.

Echoes from the past - the crisis that tore the Tories apart

4 Apr 2019

Political commentators keep comparing the political chaos over Brexit to the crisis that engulfed politics when the Corn Laws were repealed. So what happened in the 1840s? Scope finds fascinating historical resonances…

“Your head is the pinball” – but things don’t have to be like this

29 Mar 2019

Everything is breaking. It’s easy to feel despondent but, if you want to fix anything, it’s much better to be calm, think about the good that can and is being done, and have some positivity. Scope tags along to the Imagine Festival.

Some good news, at last

29 Mar 2019

There has been one piece of very good news for Northern Ireland in an otherwise gloomy, Brexit dominated week.

Belfast hosts a different peoples' vote

22 Mar 2019

A new democratic movement is gaining traction in Northern Ireland. From Rathlin Island to Newry and the Clogher Valley local people are deciding for themselves how money in their communities should be spent.

Back to the drawing board for sustainable transport to school

Chris Hazzard MLA, then Minister for Infrastructure, with pupils from St Colmcille's Primary School in Downpatrick on Bike to School Day in June 2016

21 Mar 2019

Efforts are underway to change transport habits in Northern Ireland – but they might not be working. Scope looks at the annual school transport figures.

Fighting cancer together, why we need a strategy

15 Mar 2019

The Department of Health has announced that it is to commission a new cancer strategy for Northern Ireland.

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