Category Archives: The benefit system
Mind are to be congratulated for their work with benefits claimants
I have a habit, on this blog, of criticising the major mental health charities when they undertake activities with which I disagree. I did so most recently a little over a month ago. On that occasion, I expressed disappointment and … Continue reading
This is how some of the major mental health charities work against the interests of mentally ill people
Today, there was a conference on mental illness. It was addressed by the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg. The text of his speech is here. Since he was speaking about mental health in public, he inevitably aired a number of … Continue reading
Insensitive fancy dress might not be the worst problem we face
You may have heard of the small PR disaster experienced by Asda and Tesco (and to a lesser extent Amazon and Ebay) recently, when it emerged that they were selling Hallowe’en* costumes which purported to represent a ‘mental patient’ and … Continue reading
7 arguments against the benefits cap
This post is something of a re-tread for me: here I was back in January 2012 explaining why the benefits cap is unfair. That was quite a long, discursive post. The idea is that this will be a much more … Continue reading
Mental health campaigns can backfire
Mark ‘One in Four’ Brown has written a typically thoughtful and interesting blog post for the BBC to mark Mental Health Awareness Week. In it he wonders whether a standard tactic deployed by self-appointed mental health campaigners – that of … Continue reading
From the BBC: how not to eat healthily for £1 a day
The BBC have published an article by one Brian Milligan, which purports to show that it is possible to eat a healthy, varied diet for less than £1 a day. The article is – and I’m being polite here – … Continue reading
The Mind awards aren’t just annoying and self-congratulatory. They’re actively harmful.
Warning: this post is angrier and swearier than most of my posts. If you’re bothered by that, don’t read any further. If you do read further and come across something you don’t like, don’t come whingeing to me about it. … Continue reading
Contradictions at the Conservative Conference: gay marriage and benefits claimants
It won’t astonish you to learn that I am not a Conservative (insofar as I am represented at all within conventional electoral politics I am a Green, although it’s important to stress that I mean the rational, technology-is-our-friend wing of … Continue reading
Why the benefits cap is unfair
On the face of it, the idea of limiting the maximum amount any family can receive from benefits to £26,000 per year seems eminently fair; this is, after all, the median household income after tax. Iain Duncan Smith, the Secretary … Continue reading
Aethelread the Unread 
For a “Christian country”, ours seems to have an awful lot of hoarded wealth
David Cameron has recently taken to declaring with an unprecedented frequency and vigour that “we” are a Christian country. Some people are upset about this. Personally, I’m not all that upset. I don’t tend to get upset about these kinds … Continue reading →