Unsupported tropes used to cut disability benefits
One of the government’s most common tropes when it is discussing welfare is a desire to focus support on ‘the most needy’. Superficially...
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- Apr 19
- 4 min
Sunak perpetuates the myth of the 'sick note culture'
The UK PM perpetuates the myth of the sick note culture, as an excuse to cut support to sick and disabled people.
- Mar 25
- 5 min
Book review: Rob Hoch reviews Second Class Citizens
This is a guest post by Robert Hoch (Yidokodiltona), who wrote a review of my book, Second Class Citizens: The Treatment of Disabled...
- Feb 13
- 2 min
Stories that challenge: Alan and Ben
I currently have a series of blog posts being hosted by Church Action on Poverty. The first one tells the stories of Alan and Ben, two...
- Dec 4, 2023
- 5 min
Finding joy when you're in poverty
I had the pleasure recently of speaking at my church about poverty and my experience of it. At the end, one lady asked a question about...
- Oct 30, 2023
- 7 min
Using food clubs: visit #2
Today was my second visit to a food club. This time, I’d swapped to one nearer to me, though still a mile away. That’s fine with my...
- Jul 17, 2023
- 9 min
Accepting charity is hard: using a food club in the UK
I went to a food club recently. A food club is where you pay a small-ish amount of money for food that is about to go out-of-date, or...
- Jun 20, 2023
- 9 min
Book review: Social class in the 21st century
Mike Savage, Social Class in the 21st Century.[1] The emotions of class The UK has long been interested in the subject of class and class...
- May 17, 2023
- 13 min
The demand for government: investing in family
Conservative Home has started a series of posts at looking at ways to reduce the demand for government. The first post, by David...
- Mar 15, 2023
- 10 min
Turning a terrible mess into a toxic one: #Budget2023
The budget today announced a lot of stuff, and most of it I’m not qualified to comment on. I’m interested, because I have a sister with...
- Jan 28, 2023
- 6 min
Poverty stigma: causes vs symptoms
I think I've worked out what it is that I dislike about people saying that poverty isn’t just, or even mainly, about material lack. Even...
- Jan 13, 2023
- 10 min
Arrogance and stigma: why does everyone look down on the poor?
You might think that amongst those who have suffered, compassion for those in a similar situation is higher. And indeed, in at least some...
- Dec 13, 2022
- 10 min
Book reviews: Lowborn, Disconnected Youth, and The Least, The Last and The Lost
Lowborn I recently read Kerry Hudson’s 2019 book, Lowborn. I don’t really have much to say about it, because honestly it is so good. And...
- Dec 3, 2022
- 10 min
How (not) to fix the NHS, part 2
There have been a handful of articles recently querying the model of healthcare that the NHS uses, and suggesting that we should pursue a...
- Dec 3, 2022
- 8 min
How (not) to fix the NHS, part 1
There have been a handful of articles recently querying the model of healthcare that the NHS uses, and suggesting that we should pursue a...
- Nov 30, 2022
- 8 min
What's so good about multi-payer, anyway?
I recently had a conversation with someone about whether the German healthcare system is superior to ours. I made two comments, which the...
- Nov 14, 2022
- 4 min
Crying wolf? The collapse of the NHS
A lot of us have been saying that the NHS has been collapsing for years. Now, maybe you think we were crying wolf previously when there...
- Oct 14, 2022
- 4 min
Are there logs in rich people's eyes?
There’s an annoying primary school rhyme that goes, ‘I know you are, you said you are, so what am I?’ The idea is the kid has been...
- Oct 5, 2022
- 5 min
Cabbage Soup for all
A recipe for cabbage soup was posted on twitter recently, positing that this soup – eaten twice a day for 4 days – would see someone...
- Sep 26, 2022
- 6 min
Healthy eating on £23/week
Budget menus abound on the internet, but what I’ve rarely seen with them is a calculation of whether keeping to that menu can meet one’s...
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