McKendrick, John H.

English

ResearchOnline@GCU

Everything changes, but everything stays the sameMcKendrick, John H.Published in:Scottish Anti Poverty ReviewPublication date:2023Document VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordLink to publication in ResearchOnlineCitation for published version (Harvard):McKendrick, JH 2023, 'Everything changes, but everything stays the same' Scottish Anti Poverty Review, vol.38, pp. 5.General rightsCopyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright ownersand it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.Take down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please view our takedown policy at https://edshare.gcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/5179 for detailsof how to contact us.Download date: 28. Aug. 2023www.povertyalliance.org 5SCOTTISH ANTI POVERTY REVIEW SPRING 2023RESEARCH COMMENTEverything changes, but everything stays the same.In 1992 my French language skills were not so well developed. Things have not improved much in 2023, so much so that the title of this note to celebrate The Poverty Alliance’s thirtieth birthday takes the English form of “everything changes, but everything stays the same”, rather than the original “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose”, which is attributed to the French critic Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, writing in 1849. Thirty years ago, I was a postgraduate student the Department of Geography and Topographic Science at the University of Glasgow. I was in the middle of fieldwork for my research on the “Lone Parents in Strathclyde Region: The Quality of Life of a Deprived Population Group.” I was travelling the length and breadth of the now-defunct region to ensure that lone parents from all parts of the region had an opportunity to share their thoughts on what mattered to them, and whether they perceived that they were getting what they wanted.  I was part of a group of students committed to using their research skills to better understand and tackle social problems, a group that included James McCormick (now Director of The Robertson Trust, who was researching The Impact of the Poll Tax in Urban Scotland). I was also greatly supported by One-Plus, at that time the largest lone parent organisation in the UK, but one that operated exclusively in west and central Scotland. I can recall a day return by bus from Glasgow to Campbeltown to leave surveys (and stamped envelopes) in the local library and doctor’s surgery for lone parents to collect, complete and return to me. I can recall spending an hour chatting to an elderly lady in Carnwath having been invited into her house for a cup of tea. No survey was completed, but she needed the company. Her bed had been moved into her living room to save money by only heating one room in the house.  Thirty years on, and pensioner poverty remains a social problem in Scotland.  Just last month, The Poverty Alliance published a blog by Debbie Horne of Independent Age, which argued that we need a pensioner poverty strategy in Scotland, drawing from evidence in the recently published report, Not Enough to Live On. John McKendrick, Co-director, SPIRU, Glasgow Caledonian University.Thirty years on, and James McCormick is still using his talents to challenge social injustice in Scotland. Now, helping guide the resources of The Robertson Trust as it seeks to ‘fund, support and champion those seeking solutions to poverty and trauma’.Thirty years on, and One Plus is no more. One Parent Families Scotland continue the good work of One Plus (benefitting from the work of Marion Davis, Director of Policy, Communication and Strategy, who was an Information Officer at One Plus). Lone parent poverty remains as persistent today as it was back then. Thirty years on, and I found myself back walking through the same cloisters at the University of Glasgow. This time, I was on an official visit as part of my role as Commissioner for Fair Access to higher education, discussing with senior management the work that the University is doing to widen access and supporting students to thrive during and beyond their studies. And thirty years on, The Poverty Alliance is still here.  It is a very different organisation to what it was back then. It is larger. It is established. It is respected. But it no less dynamic. It has also developed into the organisation that is doing the most to understand and tackle poverty in Scotland through applied research and does so in way that is consistent with the ethos of an organisation that exists to enable people with experience of poverty to have their voices heard. It would be wrong to wish you a ‘happy birthday’.  It would be wrong to wish you ‘every success in the future’.  We would much rather that you didn’t have a future.  We very much wish that things wouldn’t stay the same. However, until the scourge of poverty in Scotland is obliterated, then there is a necessity for The Poverty Alliance to tackle the injustices that prevail.

Everything changes, but everything stays the same

https://researchonline.gcu.ac.uk/files/77267236/77078861.pdf

Everything changes, but everything stays the same

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

ResearchOnline@GCU