I am privileged to belong to a group of passionate writers who are called Ungagged. I love them because they share voices that deserve to be heard and often are not. At the end of Carers Week, am proud to be writing for them. Once a year we carers get patted on the back and […]
Health
Plastic Pleurisy Part Poo 💩
The war on plastic is real, it’s escalating. Humans are devising new ways to tackle the ever growing problem that is plastic. We are recycling more, we have discovered plastic eating insects, We’ve deployed barriers across rivers to catch plastic, we have sophisticated tractor dragged rakes to pick up the plastic on our beaches. However, we […]
Councillor Mhairi Hunter speaks to Ungagged on Baby Boxes
When Ungagged asked me if I’d like to write something about the baby box stooshie my initial reaction was to think it might be too depressing. But then I thought no, that’s how the Tories want us to feel. So here goes. It all started with a Guardian story based on two pillars: one, […]
The Price You Pay for Having Ovaries
It’s not until you start paying attention you realise how ridiculous it is. £2 for a tampon out of a machine. You must have the right change – 2 individual pound coins or you’re goosed. And that’s one of the cheaper scenarios! If you use the women’s toilets, have a look next time. […]
Plastic Pleurisy
So I stumbled across a twitter thread today, quite innocuous but linked to a vital and important issue. Plastic straws. Now I know we have all seen that awful video of the poor turtle with the straw up his nose, but in case you haven’t… https://youtu.be/4wH878t78bw Here at ungagged we try really hard to support […]
12 Days of Christmas- Day 8
On the 8th day of Christmas Ungagged are asking you to save 8 people’s lives. Don’t worry, it’s easier than you think. Signing up to the organ donor register will take around a minute, and it won’t cost you a single penny. But you can literally save the lives of eight people, and improve the lives […]
12 Days of Christmas- Day 6
Can you believe we are halfway through our 12 Days of Christmas already? Today’s small act will cost you nothing but time, but could make all the difference to someone’s wellbeing. It can be hard to admit when you are feeling lonely, and Christmas can be one of the loneliest times of the year. Have […]
BRIEFING: Benefit Sanctions Statistics:JSA, ESA, Universal Credit and Income Support for Lone Parents August 2017
BRIEFING: Benefit Sanctions Statistics: JSA, ESA, Universal Credit and Income Support for Lone Parents August 2017 22 September 2017 Dr David Webster Honorary Senior Research Fellow Urban Studies University of Glasgow Webpages: http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/staff/davidwebster/ http://www.cpag.org.uk/david-webster SUMMARY In the year to March 2017 there were approximately 129,000 JSA […]
Universal Chaos
A shocking government briefing paper written by David Webster of the Child Poverty action Group has come to light exposing the failings of the Tories flagship Universal Credit system, including skyrocketing sanctions against pregnant women, and people with mental health problems. The scheme, which the government agreed in its universal credit white paper (pdf) was […]
Judge Tories on their Record
Theresa May is in hiding, too scared to appear in public, refusing televised debates, public appearances or questions from the electorate, asking that we judge her on the Tories record instead. So let’s have a look at that. May has been PM for nine months, and during that time she has consistently insisted she is […]