Marxist. Trade Unionist. Socialist-feminist. Author. Poet. Speaker. Tutor. RMT ex-Exec. Workers' Liberty. Autie. Bi. PUFC fan.
Examining mental distress and ill-health and the (lack of) support available
Published in Solidarity 435, 12 April 2017 On 28 March, transport union RMT held its first ever Disabled Members’ Conference. Rank-and-file activists had called for the establishment of this conference for several years, but repeatedly met with rejection by the … Read More
Yesterday saw RMT’s first ever Disabled Members’ Conference, held in London. Although quite small (9 delegates, plus union officials), the important thing was that it took place at all, especially as rank-and-file members had pushed for its creation against the … Read More
Crazed Loner – a poem about the portrayal of mental ill-health in the murder of Jo Cox MP, performed at Ealing TUC International Women’s Day celebration.
R.I.P. Jo Cox MP Crazed loner Stay-at-homer Helpline phoner Hummer and groaner Window licker Timebomb ticker Deranged and estranged He’s a stabber, a shooter Overly obsessed with his computer He’s nothing to do with us, you see No link to … Read More
She’s marked her again and the scars will preserve it She’s causing her pain ’cause she thinks she deserves it She isn’t a file on a case worker’s shelf She isn’t self-harming, she’s harming herself Hyphen, inversion may make it … Read More
Election of co-Chair: Sean McGovern, the Disabled Workers’ representative on TUC General Council, chairs the Committee. I was re-elected unopposed as co-Chair for another year. Action on Resolutions from Disabled Workers Conference In carrying out the decisions of the … Read More
Your breathlessness feels like asphyxiation You’ve missed a deadline for some bureaucrat You’re sighing, crying, busting with frustration I’m sure there is a therapy for that The lights and noise and pressure make you dizzy The heat is burning up … Read More
A stretched-out band’s pulled thin and pale with tension This wretched land is fertile for portension Its far-fetched plan is born of apprehension Turns breath-snatched panic past my comprehension My rough-sketched sanded smile is just pretension And level-handed mantras get … Read More
Updates on ongoing work ‘You don’t look disabled’ briefing for union reps on ‘invisible/hidden’ disabilities, available here. Disability Labour contact details are here. Seminar on ‘Equality and mental health in an age of austerity’ – report online here. Griffiths v DWP appeal … Read More
I worry about People who are not depressed They must be insane
UPDATE ON PREVIOUS ISSUES Shadow Report to the United Nations: still being prepared, as there is a lot of material to fit into a limited space. Challenging myths and prejudice around disability and benefit claimants: Our proposal (from our last … Read More
from Solidarity 339, 8 October 2014 Campaigners fear that government “pilot schemes” to “help unemployed people with mental health problems find work” will lead to people being bullied off benefits and will not address the causes of mental ill-health. Some … Read More
The TUC Disabled Workers’ Committee elected two co-Chairs for 2014/15: Sean McGovern and Janine Booth. Disabled Workers’ Conference 2014 – Resolutions We looked at all the resolutions passed by Disabled Workers’ Conference in May. A document containing these resolutions will … Read More
An attempt to put the ups and downs of depression into verse … Bright skies, natural highs, Summer haze, happy days, Good things … mood swings Dark cloud, not proud Guilt, shame, down again Life’s shit, deep pit Break down, … Read More