Deaf People Are Paying Thousands to Learn Their Own Language
Liam O'Dell
It’s 2021 and the UK still has no sign language GCSE. Deaf journalist Liam O'Dell asks: could the Tories care less about us?
Why I Was Wrong to Write Off Extinction Rebellion in 2018
Chris Saltmarsh
In 2018, Chris Saltmarsh penned a controversial column for Novara Media explaining why he wouldn’t be joining Extinction Rebellion. Three years later he reconsiders his view in light of progress made inside the organisation.
Sex Worker Rights Are Disability Rights
Sophie K Rosa
Tired debates about disability and sex work too often focus on the morality of a disabled man buying sex. Why aren’t we talking about disabled sex workers? Sophie K Rosa reports.
Disabled People Don’t Want the Right to Die – We Want the Right to Live
Penny Pepper
Assisted suicide bills like the one currently in parliament hinge on the idea of choice. But in our age of perma-austerity, we should question who gets to make what choices, writes disability rights activist Penny Pepper.
How to Solve the Cost of Living Crisis? Pay Rises, Now!
James Meadway
With inflation in the UK hitting a ten-year high, a significant squeeze on living standards lies ahead, writes James Meadway. The most obvious way to stop this is to pay workers more.
Britain’s Inhumane Benefits System Is Giving People PTSD
Jay Watts
The psychological violence of welfare applications is destroying our mental health - and an increasingly two-tier benefits system won’t help, writes clinical psychologist Jay Watts.
The West Botched Cop26, Then Blamed China
Aaron Bastani
During Cop26 alone, the EU backed new oil and gas projects worth €13 bn. While Western commentators blame India and China for the conference failure, the West is the real climate culprit, argues Aaron Bastani.
In Keir Starmer’s Anti-Racist Universe, Palestinians Don’t Count
Barnaby Raine
The Labour leader’s anti-Palestinian racism is classic colonialism with a contemporary twist, argues Barnaby Raine.
Yes, Mental Health Counts As Disability
Micha Frazer-Carroll
Even people who live with mental distress are often reluctant to recognise it as disability, writes Micha Frazer-Carroll. But doing so could help us understand that many of our problems are caused by the way in which society is constructed - and to organise together to change it.
So What’s the Problem With Peter Singer?
Lucy Burke
The work of utilitarian philosopher Peter Singer contributes to a culture in which the value of disabled peoples’ lives is viewed as a matter for debate rather than a given. A failure to recognise this reflects a broader failure to engage meaningfully with disability activism, writes Lucy Burke.
Disability Politics Are Anticapitalist Politics
Ellen Clifford
Impairments aren’t what make us disabled, our profit-driven society is, writes disabled activist Ellen Clifford.
Vaccine Passports Are Still an Awful Idea
James Meadway
With coronavirus cases rising, the government could still introduce vaccine passports in England - a decision that comes with major implications for our privacy and freedom, writes James Meadway.
Union Jacks and Churchill Quotes Won’t Save Insulate Britain
Blyth Brentnall
Insulate Britain's comms strategy aims to enter "the Right’s side of the culture war". But nationalist parochialism will alienate many social housing residents while doing little to blunt the anger of motorists, argues Blyth Brentnall.
Cop26 Is Little More Than a Cop-out
Ell Folan
World leaders have once again gathered at COP and promised action. But they’ll go home and do virtually nothing. These climate gatherings aren’t fit for purpose - and won’t be until politicians start taking responsibility instead of shifting the blame.
Bogus ‘Nature Based Solutions’ Won’t Solve the Climate Crisis
Kirtana Chandrasekaran
'Nature-based solutions’ to the climate crisis are the talk of the town at Cop26. But while they’re an intoxicating idea, they’re really a wolf in sheep’s clothing, argues Kirtana Chandrasekaran.
The Tories’ New ‘Community-Powered’ Plan Is a Cynical Power Grab
Bertie Russell, Keir Milburn & Kai Heron
The Tories' recent proposal for a new era of 'community-powered Conservativism' is an audacious, though ultimately hollow, bid to park tanks on the left's lawn.
Who Should Pay Up for Climate Carnage?
Harpreet Kaur Paul
Unprecedented storms and floods are ripping across the Global South. Many at COP26 are calling for rich countries to pay for the damage, writes Harpreet Kaur Paul.
Austerity May Be Over, but the Tories Still Aren’t Spending Enough
James Meadway
With this year's budget, the Tories may have ended austerity, but the spending increases they are proposing aren't nearly enough to undo the damage they have wrought through a decade of brutal cuts.