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Frances RyanThe Guardian |
There is a scene in The Simpsons in which the villainous Mr Burns enlists a team of monkeys to reproduce a Charles Dickens novel on the cheap. Hunched...
When a child is scared of their parents, they can spend a long time plucking up the courage to talk. I learned this during a decade of volunteering as...
When a prime minister knows he is heading for electoral wipeout, he has one of two options. He can choose dignified statesmanship, using his remaining...
More than 30 years ago, the Sun published the infamous front page that was said to swing the 1992 general election in favour of the Conservatives....
There is a difference between being shocked and being surprised. I thought of that as I read the news that disabled children had been “erased”...
If you have ever been bored and on the internet, you may have played a “who said it?” quiz, in which you are asked to consider two comically...
The legacy left to an incoming Labour government after 14 years of Tory rule is akin to a hated relative leaving a flooding basement and 12 parakeets...
Human beings are not good at talking about death. That includes politicians. It is ironic – though understandable – that the one life event we...
I don’t wish to alarm anyone, but the signs suggest that general election season is upon us. The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, is interviewed in the...
Following the news in Britain feels increasingly like living the Smiths’ lyric, “Good times for a change”. The onslaught of cost-cutting,...
If you want a symbol of this country’s shredded safety net, look no further than Mark in Bristol. For the past 30 years Mark, who has cerebral...
There is a scene in The Simpsons in which Ned Flanders enthuses about the joys of tax. Asked by his son what taxes pay for, he exclaims:...
It is mid-November and I am browsing Christmas presents online for my niece. I scroll through a sea of dolls, small bricks and future landfill until I...
When Vicky forgets to buy food, she doesn’t eat. Autism means she often can’t manage day-to-day tasks: from cleaning the house and remembering to...
On social media, there is a trend known as “performative kindness”. Influencers will share a seemingly selfless act of compassion – say,...
It starts slowly at first. A food bank crops up inside your local mosque. You notice more sleeping bags on the walk to work. Over time, the signs seem...
U nder the grey sky of an Essex seaside town sits a broken wheelchair, its front blue wheel shattered. Inside an office, a frame for a hoist...
I t is 1.35pm and I’m having to explain coronavirus transmission to a nurse. I am due an appointment at 2.30, and I’ve been phoned because I say...