politics | Stef Benstead

May 146 min read

Unsupported tropes used to cut disability benefits

One of the government’s most common tropes when it is discussing welfare is a desire to focus support on ‘the most needy’. Superficially...

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Apr 194 min read

Sunak perpetuates the myth of the 'sick note culture'

The UK PM perpetuates the myth of the sick note culture, as an excuse to cut support to sick and disabled people.

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Apr 75 min read

I hate charity: why justice matters

I hate charity. Not when I’m giving: when I’m giving, I love charity. It makes me feel better about myself, because I have done something...

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Mar 255 min read

Book review: Rob Hoch reviews Second Class Citizens

This is a guest post by Robert Hoch (Yidokodiltona), who wrote a review of my book, Second Class Citizens: The Treatment of Disabled...

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Feb 132 min read

Stories that challenge: Alan and Ben

I currently have a series of blog posts being hosted by Church Action on Poverty. The first one tells the stories of Alan and Ben, two...

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Oct 30, 20237 min read

Using food clubs: visit #2

Today was my second visit to a food club. This time, I’d swapped to one nearer to me, though still a mile away. That’s fine with my...

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Jul 17, 20239 min read

Accepting charity is hard: using a food club in the UK

I went to a food club recently. A food club is where you pay a small-ish amount of money for food that is about to go out-of-date, or...

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Jun 20, 20239 min read

Book review: Social class in the 21st century

Mike Savage, Social Class in the 21st Century.[1] The emotions of class The UK has long been interested in the subject of class and class...

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May 17, 202313 min read

The demand for government: investing in family

Conservative Home has started a series of posts at looking at ways to reduce the demand for government. The first post, by David...

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Mar 15, 202310 min read

Turning a terrible mess into a toxic one: #Budget2023

The budget today announced a lot of stuff, and most of it I’m not qualified to comment on. I’m interested, because I have a sister with...

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Jan 28, 20236 min read

Poverty stigma: causes vs symptoms

I think I've worked out what it is that I dislike about people saying that poverty isn’t just, or even mainly, about material lack. Even...

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Dec 13, 202210 min read

Book reviews: Lowborn, Disconnected Youth, and The Least, The Last and The Lost

Lowborn I recently read Kerry Hudson’s 2019 book, Lowborn. I don’t really have much to say about it, because honestly it is so good. And...

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Dec 3, 202210 min read

How (not) to fix the NHS, part 2

There have been a handful of articles recently querying the model of healthcare that the NHS uses, and suggesting that we should pursue a...

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Dec 3, 20228 min read

How (not) to fix the NHS, part 1

There have been a handful of articles recently querying the model of healthcare that the NHS uses, and suggesting that we should pursue a...

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Nov 30, 20228 min read

What's so good about multi-payer, anyway?

I recently had a conversation with someone about whether the German healthcare system is superior to ours. I made two comments, which the...

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Nov 20, 20225 min read

Evangelicals and Social Action: a book review

Evangelicals and Social Action: from John Wesley to John Stott Ian Shaw (2021) Inter-Varsity Press Ian Shaw starts his book with a...

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Nov 14, 20224 min read

Crying wolf? The collapse of the NHS

A lot of us have been saying that the NHS has been collapsing for years. Now, maybe you think we were crying wolf previously when there...

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Nov 8, 20228 min read

God and Government: a book review

God and Government Edited by Nick Spencer and Jonathan Chaplin Foreword by Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury Published by London:...

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Aug 1, 202210 min read

The NHS isn't sacrosanct - but maybe it should be

I enjoy listening to a range of podcasts from different political viewpoints. One topic that came up recently – albeit as a sidenote of...

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Jul 12, 20229 min read

Individualism left and right

One of the things that I have been thinking about a bit over the last few years is the balance between individualism and collectivism in...

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