The WOW petition read: “We call for a cumulative impact assessment of welfare reform, and a new deal for sick and disabled people based on their needs, abilities and ambitions.” Some 100,000 signatures later, the government has been forced to listen. This morning, the House of Commons will have a full debate on what the “reforms” have done to […]
Fewer than one in six people who apply for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) have had their claim decided, DWP figures revealed this month. Meanwhile, almost two out of three people who apply for PIP are receiving nothing at all unless they are terminally ill. They’re the first figures to be released since the PIP’s rollout began to replace Disability […]
It was last year that the Telegraph declared sex-selective abortion was available “on demand” in the UK. I spoke on some BBC radio shows at the time – feeling a bit like the unhinged feminist arguing for radical things like ‘evidence’ before a panic and continual ‘full reproductive rights’. The Independent’s ‘Lost Girls’ campaign – in which the […]
2012 brought us some wonderfully offensive male attempts to control women’s bodies . With a late entry, Tim Montgomerie ensured 2013 was no different. Hurrah to Tim! There were many highlights to the column – from ignoring all scientific fact to advocating legally requiring pregnant women to look at pictures of foetuses before they are allowed to […]
Christmas would be nothing without its traditions. The stocking on your bed, the Quality Streets in your stomach … your local police force’s tips on how not to get yourself raped. ”It’s Christmas, ladies! Here’s a reminder how not to get raped!” Every year sees anti-rape campaigns and, without fail, every year sees anti-rape campaigns that show […]
It used to be that when politicians wanted to bury bad news they’d orchestrate its release to time with a distracting event. Seeing Iain Duncan Smith publicly criticized for wasting at least £140 million of public money over Universal Credit at the start of this month, it struck me how we’ve slowly reached another level. “Unmitigated […]
Maria and her children have been in temporary accommodation for five years, after they became homeless in 2008. Her youngest is one year old and there’s four of them now crammed into a flat in London. The place smells of damp and she tells me it’s infested with rodents. She’s paying almost £400 a week […]
