Niall Cooper: Love defies hate

30/06/2017 | Reform

Love defies hate in Manchester

 

Local communities woke up for days on end to news of the latest arrest or dawn raid on a house, a street, not a stone’s throw from our own. It was strange to … Read More

Niall Cooper: Voices from the margins

26/05/2017 | Reform

Listens to voices from the margins

Voting is an important civic and Christian responsibility. But there’s a whole lot more to democracy than where we happen to put our little pencil cross on 8 June. What kind of stories do … Read More

Niall Cooper: Feeling the pinch

02/05/2017 | Reform

Hearing from people feeling the pinch

Are you feeling the pinch? No (in case you’re wondering) this is not a column about dieting – though, for some people, weight loss is involved. Food prices, gas and electric bills, council tax, … Read More

Niall Cooper: What’s in a name?

27/03/2017 | Reform

On problems with labels, stereotypes and location prejudice

‘Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough! /It isn’t fit for humans now, /There isn’t grass to graze a cow.’

It’s easy now to smile at the opening words of Betjeman’s famous poem, ‘Slough’, written … Read More

Niall Cooper: How to meet the reality of poverty

27/02/2017 | Reform

When you think about poverty, who do you think about? Poverty is not an abstract concept – something affecting people far away. But for some reason, we struggle to ‘see’ poverty close to home.

Fiction has a certain power. The … Read More

Niall Cooper: Looking forward

30/01/2017 | Reform

Niall Cooper reflects on 20 years of tackling poverty

Dignity, truth and agency: these are the enduring themes which have cropped up time and time again throughout my 20 years as Director of Church Action on Poverty. As we enter … Read More