Innholdsfortegnelse for 2/5/2018 i The Big Issue

This week we’re looking at a century of women’s suffrage and issues of equality. I believe that women should have the same pay and rights as men. We can do the same job just as well as men, and I recognise that some jobs suit women better and others are more suited to men. We’ve come a long way. When I worked as a PA in London it was equal – there were both men and women as partners. I’ve recently started working as a steward at Southampton FC and I’m treated just the same as the men, even in that male-dominated environment. The fans are just as polite to me, even when their team is losing. The suffragettes showed women that we can do anything and I hope that…

Richard Briers has it. This, I grant you, is not something you hear very often. Richard Briers appeared in two key British television programmes over a generation ago. Both of them, Ever Decreasing Circles and The Good Life, could be dismissed as comfortable sitcoms, familiar to a certain age-group and lacking a visceral punch. But they are much more than that. They stand up to re-watching, especially if you don’t quite remember the details of them. Ever Decreasing Circles is a very 1980s show. It sees Briers star as Martin Bryce, an increasingly exasperated man in Thatcher’s Britain, a man who feels out of time as success eludes him and new money rubs his nose in it, upsetting established routines. His new next door neighbour is Paul – brash, flash,…

The Big Issue’s founder John Bird has joined the recently set-up Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel. Part of the aim of the group is to eliminate rough sleeping completely by 2027. They met for the first time last week. The group will draw on their experience to support the upcoming Ministerial Taskforce, which aims to provide a cross-government approach to eliminate rough sleeping by 2027. Lord Bird said: “More than ever, we need to find new ways to ensure that people don’t find themselves homeless, sofa-surfing or rough sleeping in the first place. “I will be using my voice on the Panel to call for cross-departmental thinking and action on the most effective preventative measures, as part of a re-energised, all-out effort to tackle the root causes of poverty – and…

Way above the clouds of poverty, above the clouds of Brexit, a vast preparation is in hand. You can’t even call it global, or globalism or even pejoratively, globalisation. And we can’t just label it, just so we can protest it. But it’s about the globe, about the world we live in. And it involves the thoughts and actions of three representatives of forces, who have not been aligned like this for a hundred years. Xi, Vladimir and Donald are but representatives of that shift in power, that jealousy of power, that struggle for power. Up in the atmosphere, above where we exist and operate, big and almost god-like struggles are taking place. And like in the days of the Edwardian era, when Great Britain, Germany, France and Russia unwittingly…

IN 1997 THE YEAR JESS PHILLIPS TURNS 16… Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash / Labour, under Tony Blair, wins landslide election victory / Microsoft becomes the world’s most valuable company – at a cool $261bn At 16 I was a raver, a party animal to say the least. Weekends would start early on a Friday night, round at my friend’s house where we’d get ready. Then we’d be out, maybe to a local party at someone’s house. Then on Saturday it was an all-night rave until the wee small hours of Sunday. School was okay. I didn’t get into fights but I stood up to people in power, often. So I did get into trouble. If I was being scolded for something I hadn’t done, I wouldn’t let…

One hundred years ago women got the vote. Of course it wasn’t quite as easy as that: the Representation of the People Act, passed on February 6, 1918, permitted the 8.4 million women aged over 30 to vote. But it took another decade before they had equal voting rights to men. The battle for equality has been fought on many fronts: the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1960s and Seventies strove for equal pay and rights, in the 1980s the frontline was America’s British nuclear air-bases, Miner’s Strike picket-lines and overthrowing mother-in-law jokes in comedy clubs. Today the digital revolution has brought new empowerment. Feminist blogs, the Everyday Sexism Project and #MeToo and #TimesUp campaigns have exposed abuse of power over women by famous, rich and powerful men. Feminism has…

Generally the policy at The Big Issue is to champion great writers who might not get the airing they deserve in other quarters. It feels wanton to squander valuable word-space bemoaning mediocre books when there are so many splendid authors falling by the wayside in a highly competitive cash-fixated market. Sometimes though, it’s enlightening – and rather fun – to poke one’s head into the money den and see what all the chat is about. To scope out the contextual territory, as it were. And right now, the chat is about The Woman in the Window; the ‘new Girl on the Train’ (it’s a relief to see the giddy Girl has finally matured into a woman) by an unheard-of writer with a fashionably gender-neutral name, AJ Finn. The unknown author’s…

“Equal pay for women. Absolutely. That.” This is actor John Simm when asked about his big issue for 2018. “It is absolutely insane. I cannot even begin to get my head around it. I had no idea it was so bad. “But the tide is turning. If something good is to come out of this whole Weinstein thing, then at least there is this huge sea change that feels like it is happening right now.” Before long, he’s echoing Beyoncé: “My God, I wish women ran the whole world, don’t you? Please let that happen one day.” John Simm, a youthful 47, is sitting in a busy hotel cafe in Soho. His big break came in 1999 in Human Traffic and from the peerless State of Play in 2003 through…

The great and the good from the classical music industry recently gathered at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff for the annual Association of British Orchestras (ABO) conference. This year’s event (January 24-26) was hosted by BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Sinfonia Cymru and Welsh National Opera. The ABO conference provides an important forum for musicians, ensembles, artist managers, venues, specialist media and suppliers to discuss the thorny issues du jour. The theme for the 2018 instalment was ‘collaboration’, a particularly challenging subject in Brexitland. (Previous topics have included ‘identity’ and ‘diversity’– the ABO is not shy of difficult conversations). Sessions covered collaboration in recording and audience development, with specific examples from the host ensembles. Keynote speakers included Tony Hall, BBC director general, Kevin Brennan MP, shadow culture minister and…

Brave Kim What a brave young woman Kim McGuigan is [Second Chances, January 22-28], surely any sane person would recognise the immense strength of character she possesses and give her the chance she so well deserves. Maggie Campbell, Sutton Coldfield Fighting for rights I really want to thank you for publishing your cover story titled ‘ Who Worth Knowing Isn’t A Little Odd?’ last year [November 6-12]. Her heartfelt comments about The A Word and autism were so touching and expressed so clearly. I have an 11-year-old grandson who was diagnosed with autism at the age of four. Without his lovely parents who have fought the system and not given up on fighting for his rights, fighting schools who think they know him better than his own family, I really…

“I am no expert on the subject of council tax, but for decades it has been recognised as being unfair. My own thoughts are a straight 0.5 per cent per annum on the property or land value with no exemptions for lawyers or accountants to exploit. The end product must substantially increase local authority council tax in a fair way. “The problem of underfunding local authorities is now biting very hard and homelessness is growing. Local authorities must be given absolute powers to assess every property and land ownership to ensure full council tax is collected immediately, with no tax avoidance schemes, such as being owned by companies or trusts. The council tax must be paid within three months or sale or re-possession enacted. Properties not fully occupied such as…

Our social investment arm, Big Issue Invest, is targeting a jobs boost in areas where it’s needed most with the new UK Equity Impact – Employment Opportunities Fund. Big Issue Invest has teamed up with Aberdeen Standard Investments to invest in businesses offering good employment opportunities across the UK, including companies located in deprived areas, paying the living wage or offering training or jobs for young people. The fund aims to generate a financial return over the long term for the companies, which will be assessed to make sure they are committed to delivering sustainable employment opportunities. Nigel Kershaw, chair of The Big Issue Group, said: “The collaboration with Aberdeen Standard Investments will help Big Issue Invest advance its mission to dismantle poverty and create opportunity for people and communities…

What do heroin, “paper” coffee cups that don’t biodegrade for 500 years and Kim Jong-un’s smart new collection of intercontinental ballistic missiles have in common? The answer is that they all contribute to the growth of the economy. Britain, since 2014, has counted heroin – along with crack cocaine, powder cocaine, cannabis, ecstasy and amphetamines – as part of measured economic activity. So if you take any of those substances, Britain thanks you. In 2014, these activities, plus paid sex work – which is also counted, though not for some peculiar reason if the sex worker is male – added nearly £10bn to the British economy. Almost anything we produce, so long as we sell it, counts towards gross domestic product, the single-most important way we measure our economy. (Anything…

Freda Hodgson was born in 1913. She has lived through two world wars, grown up and grown old as women’s rights and freedoms have expanded, and lived everywhere from Anglesey to Zimbabwe. She recalls the very first Armistice Day, her mother getting the vote, and being presented to King George V and Queen Mary as a debutante. Freda has experienced extreme privilege as well as poverty. She is the daughter of the fifth Baronet of Bodelwyddan – with a castle passing down through the male line – and zoomed around London in the 1930s in a Morris sports car bought by her trustees. She trained in acting and producing at the prestigious Webber Douglas Academy, then spent decades in Zimbabwe (then known as Rhodesia) farming and running a busy tea…

MARGARET ATWOOD “I grew up in the woods and wasn’t concerned about what other people thought” THE MATCHGIRLS How 1,400 women in 1888 revolutionised workers’ rights ANDREA RISEBOROUGH “I get paid one-twentieth of what men get” MIRANDA RICHARDSON Confronting sexual harassment is “desperately overdue” JULIET STEVENSON The fight against “losing value as you get older” VAL MCDERMID “There were no lesbians in Fife in the 1960s…” BETTY BOOTHROYD Parliamentary powerhouse: “I remain an unclaimed treasure!” JUDITH KERR Her extraordinary life!…

1. THE WHITE TIGER Aravind Adiga A dark satire set in modern Delhi, following the rise of a lowly chauffeur who is determined to succeed at any price, even murder. Adiga tears down many modern Indian institutions, focusing on the great gulf between rich and poor. 2. Q&A (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE) Vikas Swarup A pacey tale which later became the phenomenally successful movie Slumdog Millionaire. The story follows a poor boy as he describes how he managed to win a fortune on a quiz show by answering questions that he could not possibly have known the answers to. 3. SHANTARAM Gregory David Roberts The true-life story of an Australian criminal who flees to India in the Eighties, and finds redemption in the slums of Mumbai. Roberts depicts the city in all…

Last week’s The Untold on BBC Radio 4 was broadcast on the 60th birthday of Steve ‘Stormin’ Norman. It was one of those shows that can take what may be disguised as mundane and reveal that it is inspirational. The story began with the right to wash your socks after 8pm. Steve lives in a block off the M5 in Bristol which houses single people, not always in the best of health, some fighting alcoholism, one a hoarder who’d had six tons of flotsam and jetsam removed from his previous house. Steve described himself as “obstructive and belligerent, and why shouldn’t I be?” With flats too small for washing machines, there was a communal laundry room, but without notification or consent, the council now locked it up between 8pm and…

I was nursing when the NHS suffered a similar staffing crisis in the late Eighties. At that time the Royal College of Nursing conducted a “recruit and retain” campaign. Perhaps a more appropriate campaign with sharper teeth is what is required now to address the current crisis. Personally, I would begin by drawing staff from the professions, staff groups and patient and user groups to better inform HR policy makers and senior management practices and to have a real focus on improving working lives in the NHS. After all, most staff do not opt for a career in the NHS for long-term financial gain. In my experience, policies and working parties have their place but you can bet your last pound coin that there will be hundreds perhaps thousands of…

We’ve always known the iconic red Big Issue tabard is fit for a queen. Now there’s concrete proof, as Her Majesty has been spotted dressed as a vendor in satirical street art. The monarch was spotted daubed on the side of the Life Food Café in Fitzrovia, London, last week, less than two miles from the royals’ usual hangout, Buckingham Palace. Much-changed from her usual attire (though keeping on her crown, obvs) the Queen even swapped her beloved pet corgis for Street Cat Bob, who appears to have given owner James Bowen the cold shoulder to join HRH on the streets. Or maybe he was giving her a few sales tips. Street artist Loretto is believed to be behind the Banksy-esque portrait and has given Liz esteemed company. Portrayals of…

IN MEMORIAM BY CHRISTIE CASSISA “The door is my front door from my childhood home, the source of a lot of my lifetime struggle with depression and anxiety,” Christie says of this oil painting. “It’s called In Memoriam as it is now part of my life that I have put to rest. The memories will always be with me, but I have closed the door.” MADRE SUPURNUS BY GRAEME GERARD HALLIDAY Originally from Dundee and now based in London, Graeme is a survivor of an ABI (acquired brain injury) sustained in an assault in 2006, and has endured years of associated mental health issues. His creative output, spanning art and writing, he describes as “a philosophical approach around the Cyborg”. He has exhibited nationally and internationally, and has recently been…

I’ve always been a feminist but I’ve been really lucky, I’ve not really been affected by any sexist occurrences personally. When I first got social media, Twitter especially, seeing the vitriol that female MPs get, seeing people recount their stories of being followed home, or someone on the Tube touching them in an appropriate way, it woke me up to the fact that my safety in public is not guaranteed. I’m always going to have to think, if I’m walking home at night do I need to be with a male friend so that I’m not alone? Bad things happen, and bad things happen proportionally far more to women. I was brought up to believe that whatever a man could do I can do too, but there’s still this lack…

Loveless is set in Moscow, at the approach of winter in 2012. A snippet from a radio broadcast reveals there’s much talk of a looming apocalypse, foretold hundreds of years back by the Mayan civilisation. Remember that? Well, the predicted doomsday never materialised. But from the unforgivingly bleak picture of the world that Andrey Zvyaginstev’s film presents you’d be forgiven for wondering what was worth saving. Armageddon notwithstanding, the film is stalked by a terrible sense of catastrophe. This is an impressive piece of cinema that combines muscular, visual storytelling with powerful performances: but it’s strong stuff, grim, wrenching and darkly unsettling. It begins at the end of something: a marriage in its exhausting terminal stages. Zhenya (Maryana Spivak) is selling the Moscow apartment she shares with her 12-year-old son…