Born from exclusion and resistance, black British art has carved out creative space to tell untold stories and challenge racism, says ROGER McKENZIE
THE announcement came through on April 23 that Stephen Smith, 64, had died.
The story about Smith had first been broken by Liam Thorpe of the Liverpool Echo, back in February, when he had been found fit for work despite having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), osteoarthritis and an enlarged prostate.
When Smith became ill with pneumonia he was hospitalised. His weight dropped to a skeletal six stone. Due to his precarious health, he had to seek permission from the hospital to attend his appeal. In less than three months, he was dead.
DYLAN MURPHY reports that far from helping people back into work, the sanctions regime is inflicting unnecessary trauma on working-class families
A new report from the Citizens Advice destroys the government narrative about disabled people ‘choosing’ not to work, showing the £3,000 annual cuts will create a two-tiered system based on claim dates rather than needs, writes DYLAN MURPHY
Seventeen years after losing her council job due to needing endometriosis surgery, Michelle Dewar’s campaign for paid menstrual leave gained 50,000 signatures in a week, reports ELIZABETH SHORT
The government’s retreat on PIP still leaves 150,000 new universal credit claimants facing halved benefits from April 2026, creating a discriminatory two-tier welfare system that campaigners must continue fighting, writes DR DYLAN MURPHY



