Sarah: Changing the Narrative

10/09/2026

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO OUR POLITICS?

Last year, Reform gave Lucy Connolly, who was convicted of stirring up racial hatred, a platform at its conference.

This year, Nigel Farage publicly offered legal support to Ryan Bridge and his Raise the Colours campaign.

Five alleged assaults at Reform’s conference are now being investigated by police.

Robert Jenrick responded “boohoo” and told a young woman who was struck with a metal walking aid to “get a life”. He has now said the man responsible “should be given a medal”.

Lee Anderson joked about having a whip round for him. Farage defended the actions of the crowd.

These politicians have not merely minimised violence against women. They have joked about it, rewarded it and helped create a culture in which some people believe violence is acceptable when directed at the “right” targets.

Using a walking aid does not excuse assault.

Nor does it justify the disgusting speculation that the man must receive PIP. That drags disabled people and benefit claimants into something for which they have no responsibility.

PIP is not a character judgement. Disability is not evidence of innocence or guilt. Disabled people are not political props.

Farage’s repeated description of the RNLI as a “taxi service” has also helped legitimise hostility towards volunteers whose duty is to save lives. RNLI volunteers are now experiencing threats and abuse simply for preventing people from drowning.

When politicians manufacture enemies, scapegoat them and blame them for society’s problems, violence is not an unforeseeable consequence.

It is the entirely predictable result of deliberately turning fear into hatred.

How far must this escalate before the Government, Parliament, the police and political parties treat it with the urgency it deserves?

Any responsible organisation would recognise conduct that encouraged hatred or excused violence as bringing it into disrepute.

Being a political party should not provide immunity from basic standards of safety, accountability and decency.

This is becoming more frightening, more dangerous and more urgent. It must be stopped before somebody is seriously injured or killed.



Image Description:
Graphic showing orange shards of political speech travelling from a lectern towards a woman, a wheelchair user and an RNLI volunteer. Text reads: “When politicians excuse violence, they encourage more of it.”

08/09/2026

This is a disgrace. Brave RNLI volunteers being called scum for risking their lives to save others at sea is just plain wrong. So I've signed an open letter of thanks for the RNLI letting them know these thugs do not speak for the rest of us. Add your name?

08/09/2026

This is not a collection of isolated incidents. It is a pattern.

When a migrant is accused of harming a woman, Reform weaponises women’s safety to condemn entire communities.

Yet when one of its own MPs had been jailed for repeatedly kicking his former girlfriend, it became a “bad mistake”. He was called a “fine young man” and a “role model”.

When women challenging Reform politicians were assaulted, leading figures responded with mockery, victim blaming and jokes.

At the same time, asylum seekers, racialised people, trans people and disabled people are repeatedly turned into convenient enemies. Fear is manufactured, cruelty is normalised and people are encouraged to blame those with the least power for problems created by political decisions.

Aligning yourself with this party means aligning yourself with that pattern. Selective concern for women. Scapegoating minorities. Excusing insiders. Mocking victims. Normalising intimidation.

You do not have to commit the violence yourself to help create a culture in which it becomes acceptable.

And do not assume you will always be safely inside their definition of who deserves rights and protection.



Image description: Black text on a white background reads, “You do not have to commit the violence yourself to help create a culture in which it becomes acceptable.” Orange and blue lines frame the quote, with “Changing the Narrative” at the bottom.

08/09/2026

Nick the Disabled Adventurer doing some amazing practical advocacy work. Well done Nick and Mike the MP for doing this. We need more people who have positions of power and leadership to experience this. The Labour Party, Andy Burnham, Mike Kane

07/09/2026

It's been a difficult week, chronic pain I can't control, Fibromyalgia flares further compounding the pain, and leaving me in a state of confusion, isolation and frustration.

Such is my life at times, which makes running a business sodding stressful, being a good friend frustrating, and navigating lifes challenges difficult.

So, as Su***de Prevention month begins, it does remind me to check in on others and the importance of community support, unity and kindness.

There might be repeats of videos for a little while, as I try to get things back to my baseline, but I am working on the next wheelchair challenge video with my local MP Mike Reader for Northampton South and it's going to be worth the wait.

Stay Safe, Take care, Be kind x

04/09/2026

1/4 WE TOLD THEM.

Disabled people have repeatedly warned that hostile media coverage of disability benefits does not remain safely inside a television or radio studio.

It follows us into supermarket car parks, workplaces, medical appointments and social media.

It encourages strangers to question whether we are really disabled, whether we deserve support and whether we should be using mobility aids.

More than 1,300 people have reportedly signed a petition challenging Jeremy Vine’s programmes over coverage they believe promotes hostility and misinformation about disabled benefit claimants.

Link https://c.org/QGhYkvGGcw

This is a campaign led by disabled people, not a regulatory finding that broadcasting rules have been broken. The BBC says its programme follows its editorial guidelines, while ITN declined to comment.

But compliance with minimum broadcasting rules is not the only question.

Producers choose the subjects, select the callers and decide which false claims will be challenged. Presenting prejudice as “both sides” does not create balance. It gives misinformation a platform and makes hostility look respectable.

Disabled people are describing the real world consequences.

Once again, we have told them what their coverage is doing. The question is whether broadcasters will listen before more harm is done.

Source:

https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/jeremy-vine-faces-calls-for-his-shows-to-be-axed-over-hostile-and-divisive-content-on-disability-benefits/



Alt text: Screenshot of Jeremy Vine speaking in a television studio, above a Disability News Service headline reading: “Jeremy Vine faces calls for his shows to be axed over ‘hostile’…”

Broadcaster Jeremy Vine is facing calls to have his high-profile radio and television shows axed, after years of failing to challenge content that fuels hostility towards disabled people. So far, m…

03/09/2026

Please consider signing and sharing this petition to support Benjamin.

Stop the eviction of Benjamin Shield