Are We Tackling Poverty in Scotland?
UofG Spotlight
In this episode of Spotlight, Kezia Dugdale speaks with Jim McCormick, Chief Executive of The Robertson Trust, about the Scottish Government’s new Child Poverty Framework and what truly drives progress on lifting families out of poverty, from boosting incomes to delivering strong local services. Kezia is joined first by Dr Thomas Rochow to preview insights from the Centre’s State of Poverty project and why income support alone isn’t enough without accessible services and joined‑up systems.
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The Future of Higher Education in the UK
UofG Spotlight
Higher education is facing one of the most challenging periods in its recent history. Rising financial pressures, declining international student numbers, and shifting expectations. So what does a sustainable, inclusive, and future‑ready higher education system look like? In this episode, Prof Nicola McEwen explores the future of higher education with two leading voices. First, she speaks to Prof Sir Anton Muscatelli, former Principal of the University of Glasgow and now President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Anton sets out the scale of the financial pressures facing universities...
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Hard choices ahead? Budget Challenges Facing the Next Scottish Government
UofG Spotlight
In this episode, Nicola McEwen and Graeme Roy look ahead to the challenges facing the next Scottish Government as it confronts a tight fiscal landscape. Nicola speaks with Matt Donoghue from the State Government of Victoria about Australia’s Early Intervention and Investment Framework (EIIF) - an interesting approach to pooled budgeting and preventative spending that’s gaining international attention. They explore how the model works, how departments are incentivised to collaborate, and what it takes to shift resources toward long‑term prevention. Nicola then...
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Work, Ageing and the Employment Rights Act
UofG Spotlight
This week Kez Dugdale is joined by Professor Kathleen Riach and Professor Melanie Simms from the University of Glasgow to discuss work, ageing and employment rights. Kat takes us through her recent research on work and ageing, looking at what it means to become older in work, whether policymakers and employers are doing enough to support people and what impacts how ‘old’ we feel. Then Mel discusses the details, politics and implications of the Employment Rights Act, which recently received Royal Assent in Westminster. She talks about how the changes could impact workers and...
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Challenging Scotland's Political Leaders
UofG Spotlight
We’re kicking off Season 7 of our UofG Spotlight podcast with a live episode challenging our political leaders on public service reform in Scotland. Recorded live on Monday 19 January 2026 at our event, Stop/Start: Making Public Service Reform Stick in Scotland, our host Professor Kezia Dugdale talks to: Michael Marra MSP - Scottish Labour Alison Thewliss - SNP Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP - Scottish Conservatives Graham Simpson MSP - Reform UK Jamie Greene MSP - Scottish Liberal Democrats Gillian Mackay MSP - Scottish Greens Kez quizzed our panel about whether politicians can work together to...
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Trump’s Second Act: Leadership, Tariffs, and Tensions
UofG Spotlight
In this latest episode of Spotlight, we reflect on a turbulent year in American politics and its global ripple effects. Nicola McEwen and Kez Dugdale are joined by two leading voices in international affairs: Prof Juliet Kaarbo (University of St Andrews) explores Donald Trump’s evolving leadership style, the psychology behind his foreign policy decisions, and the blurring lines between domestic and international agendas. Prof Mark Blyth (Brown University) unpacks the economic and political consequences of Trump’s tariff wars, rising inflation, and the resilience of U.S. institutions...
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The UK Budget: What You Need to Know
UofG Spotlight
This week’s episode takes a quick look at the UK Government’s Budget: What it means for Scotland? Why has the Government made these tax decisions? Was this a Budget for growth? What does lifting the Two Child Limit mean? How do we achieve effective regional development? Professor Nicola McEwen, Director of the Centre for Public Policy, discusses all this with Graeme Roy, Professor of Economics and Chair of the Scottish Fiscal Commission, Dr David Waite, expert in regional economies and inclusive growth and Ruth Patrick, Professor in Social and Public...
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Legal Aid Reform: What It Means for Families and Women
UofG Spotlight
In this episode, we tackle a critical and timely issue in the Scottish policy landscape: access to justice. Kezia speaks with two leading academics and legal aid practitioners, Fiona McPhail and Jen Ang, about the Scottish Government’s ongoing consideration of Legal Aid Reform. With decades of experience in social justice law, they share insights on what reform could mean. Then, we take a deeper look at the experiences of people trying to access justice. Joined by Satwat Rehman, Chief Executive of One Parent Families Scotland, and Marsha Scott, Chief Executive of Scottish Women’s...
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The State of Poverty: Systems, Silos and Solutions
UofG Spotlight
In this Challenge Poverty Week special, Nicola McEwen and Kezia Dugdale explore the governance of poverty with Claire MacRae and Thomas Rochow from the Centre for Public Policy. This week the First Minister reiterated again that eradicating child poverty is the driving mission for his government. The State of Poverty research team discuss how institutional silos and fragmented decision-making can hinder progress towards tackling poverty. They also explain their innovative approach to including lived experience in their work through composite stories. In the second part of the...
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Beyond the Repair Shop: Rethinking Health Systems
UofG Spotlight
In this season opener of Spotlight, Nicola McEwen and Kezia Dugdale explore the future of Scotland’s health, focusing on prevention, systems change, and the social determinants of health. Nicola speaks with Professor Sir Gregor Smith, Chief Medical Officer for the Scottish Government, about the long-term challenges facing the health service, the concept of Realistic Medicine, and why prevention must be central to Scotland’s public health strategy. Their wide-ranging conversation touches on political decision-making pressures and the potential of AI in healthcare, offering a compelling...
info_outlineWith the US Presidential Elections on 5 November 2024 rapidly approaching, we’re bringing you two University of Glasgow experts to unpack the election campaign so far.
Hosts Professor Graeme Roy and Professor Nicola McEwen speak to Professor Christopher Carman, Stevenson Professor of Citizenship at the University of Glasgow, about the state of the race, the possible impacts of the results on the UK and the wider world, the role of misinformation and disinformation in the campaigns, and how the election itself might run.
Dr Hannah Salamon, Research Associate at the Centre for Public Policy, gives us a closer look at what the election might mean for climate policy, about the records of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris on the climate, and the correlation between women’s representation and leadership and and climate outcomes, drawing on Hannah’s area of research. In her interview, Hannah uses the acronym EPA, which is the US Environmental Protection Agency.
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Find out more about the Stevenson Trust for Citizenship events: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/research/politics/stevensontrust/newsandevents/