Opinion

From 2003-09 there was a huge drop in homelessness in England due to the Homelessness Act of 2002, an act with the goal of addressing the crisis of consistently rising homelessness in England by extending government assistance to a larger portion of the homeless population. However, after 7 years of steadily falling, homelessness is on the rise again. Whilst the government has begun to address this with the ‘Everyone In’ strategy, it has not done nearly enough to alleviate the issues faced by the homeless population in day-to-day life. 2020 was a difficult year for everyone, however one often overlooked section of society had it harder than most. Over 280,000 people in England were homeless as of December 2019, with the fallout of Covid-19 thought to only increase this number to higher...

Despite the Government pledging £170m to end child poverty in the UK, we still have a long way to go. After the public rallied behind footballer Marcus Rashford, and many restaurants and cafes opened their doors in the October half term holidays to give children a proper meal, the Government decided that they had to do something to end this crisis. So, why did it take them so long and why are children’s lives even up for debate in the first place? In late October 2020, 322 Tory MPs voted against extending free school meals for children across the school holidays. With the big names of Boris Johnson, Matt Hancock, Rishi Sunak and Priti Patel all voting down the Labour notion that would have seen over a million children be fed over the October and Christmas holidays. Free school meals ar...

I want to be a TV presenter. My version of career success would be sitting on a panel and nattering away with other people while the audience (hopefully) laughs. The only problem with that goal is that I would never want to be famous. For some, fame is the absolute dream: get yourself on ITV’s Love Island or X Factor and you’re bound to come out the other side with a few hundred-thousand followers and enough sponsorship deals to keep you set for life. I’m sure that the novelty of instant fame from reality TV provides a buzz like nothing else, but it doesn’t last long. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d be hard-pressed to name five winners of X Factor, and I can barely remember the name of every Love Island contestant when they’re on the show, let alone for years to come. We can all list ...

Every member of the British public has been subjected to lockdowns and tiers for nearly a year now. No one has a free pass. Whether you’re in the top 1% of wealthy citizens or you’re just one of the millions of the rest of us, these legally-binding rules apply to you. There is no level of privilege that can counteract this fundamental fact.  It makes no difference whether you’re holed up in your £4 million pound estate in Cornwall (*Coughs* Gordon Ramsay), or in over-priced student accommodation: you’re expected to follow the rules. This may not feel fair to the physically healthy student being told to socialise no more to contain a virus they assume they’d get over. But that’s the thing about lockdown: its uniformity affects everyone differently. If you’re on the front-line, the ...

Bridget O’Sullivan As the vegan movement has gained popularity in recent years, the word ‘vegan’ itself has gained a reputation of sorts. One could even argue that the label has become problematic. As a vegan myself, I can admit that, as a social concept, veganism has become inextricable from certain connotations. Can we really separate the word from the alarmingly pink smoothie bowls Instagrammed at 6 am to the tag ‘Post-yoga refuel’? I bet if most of us were asked to depict a vegan, the same attributes would come up again and again: pretty, skinny white girl with money to burn in Whole Foods, mantras to live by and a superiority complex she doesn’t know needs addressing. The word has been largely feminised and stuck on an array of overpriced foods no one really knows how to pronounce...

Elizabeth Ajao Did you know that only 85% of the fabric purchased to turn into clothes is actually used? Did you know that it takes more than 5,000 gallons of water just to make one pair of jeans and a single t-shirt? How about the fact that we keep clothes for just half as long as we used to? When I read those three statements I was repulsed: I knew fashion wasn’t exactly helping the planet, but I didn’t think that the numbers would be quite that high… Or maybe it’s the fact that we, the consumers, had absolutely no idea of how much our demand was destroying the planet. If our demand was lower, then obviously the numbers would go down. It’s easy to say, but how do we lower that demand? For me, the most obvious way would be by simply buying second-hand. I was probably around 15 ...

Finn Murphy Throughout the festive period, we create, on average, 30% more waste than at any other time of the year. Specifically, in the UK, this amounts to around 3 million tonnes of additional rubbish. This year, in particular, we have all been through a lot, but that does not mean we can neglect other world issues. Living an eco-friendly lifestyle in a fast-moving society is a lot more difficult than it seems, but here are some helpful tips and tricks to make this holiday season more sustainable.  Try alternatives to the traditional wrapping paper: Whilst many of us may not realise this, most wrapping paper is not recyclable because it is lined with plastics. Additionally, glitter-encrusted paper is even worse as the glitter is made from tiny pieces of plastic that pollu...

Matilda Krinks In turbulent times, I have learnt to reach for things that make me feel empowered and strong, in order to convince myself that I can push through whatever is happening, no matter what. In a year like this one, whose turbulence could only be compared to a crashing Boeing 747 being attacked by fighter jets, which also just so happens to be flying over an erupting volcano, it’s safe to say I needed to feel empowered. Recently, for me, Hannah Montana’s music has been a huge source of power, and as I made my way through her discography, I wondered: did anyone ever notice how overtly feminist this music was in the early 2000s?  The 2000s were a transitional period for feminism. Women had won basic rights, but our fight was far from over. Women who embraced their sexual...

Bridget O'Sullivan I recently got chatting to a group of friends about antidepressants and our experiences with them. The topic of brands came up. One friend ended up asking another, let’s call her Lucy[1], which antidepressant she takes. Lucy answered, very sure of herself, ‘serotonin’ (the neurotransmitter modulating mood…essentially our prime ‘happiness hormone’). We all looked at each other for a moment before cracking up. Someone corrected Lucy by saying ‘You mean sertraline? You can’t straight-up swallow happiness’. Lucy blushed a little, laughing along half-heartedly. The conversation moved on, but I doubt I was the only one left with questions. What exactly do antidepressants do to our brain chemistry? Whilst it’s not known exactly how, they transmit chemicals, namely seroto...

Finn Murphy, Deputy Comment Editor Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (a.k.a. AOC) is an American politician from New York City who has worked her way up from bartending and waitressing to the U.S. House of Representatives. She has altered the landscape of American politics and inspired millions of young Americans. If you don’t know who she is, you’ve likely been living under a rock…she is a beacon of hope for the future of politics, not only in America, but across the world. Her approach to the political system paints her as a normal human. With 9.5 million followers on Twitter and 7.5 million on her personal Instagram account, AOC fits the demographic of the voters that the Democratic party are attempting to attract. Despite trying to reduce her social media use and condemning it as a “publ...