ermate

A MIG Increase Doesn’t Fix a Failing Charging System — It Just Exposes It More Clearly I don’t want to have a pop at the government for the sake of it. The Minimum Income Guarantee announcement is, on its own terms, a good one. But let’s not get carried away or we’ll spin out of cont…

Big news today from @DHSCgovuk via @wesstreeting and @SKinnock regarding the Minimum Income Guarantee. My new blog
“A MIG Increase doesn’t fix a failing charging system…..”

Good start though, good start ! #socialcare #MIG 👇

ermate.wordpress.com/2026/02/17/a...

When Social Work Stops Being Understood. There are days when I look at what’s happening across adult social care I think Local Authority employers no longer really understand what social work actually is. Not in theory, not in practice, a…

My new blog “When Social Work Stops Being Understood” 👇

ermate.wordpress.com/2026/02/14/w...

Imagine politics in Westminster not drowning in scandal, filth, petty behaviour, back‑biting or sabotage.

Imagine our Parliament free from careerists and constant crisis.

Imagine our politics finally focused on serving the country, our communities and citizens.

IMAGINE…..

In the Shadows of Power: The Mandelson Pattern Scandals don’t erupt in isolation. They grow out of ecosystems which are political, corporate and celebrity that reward certain behaviours and shield certain people. And that’s why the Mandelson af…

My new blog- In the Shadows of Power: The Mandelson Pattern

ermate.wordpress.com/2026/02/04/i...

@UKLabour aren’t even bothering to hide it anymore.All the “be kind” crap branding can’t cover up the spiteful, centralising machine underneath. Blocking Burnham,sidelining democratic choice.This is a party run by careerists who smile for the cameras while pulling the ladder up behind them. #Burnham

Sir James Munby, was a giant of justice. A mind of rare clarity,courage & heart rooted in humanity. I was privileged to meet him,witness his wit, wisdom&unwavering commitment to human rights. He made me better by showing what integrity looks like. Steely when needed, compassionate & profoundly fair.

Budget Bites There’s a troubling pattern in how welfare spending is discussed at the moment. Too often, the debate gets reduced to distortion, people divided into “deserving” and “undeserving” categories, as if…

ermate.wordpress.com/2025/11/30/b...

Leasehold Living, Crushing Service Charges Leasehold living is meant to provide stability. For me and my wife, it has become a source of anxiety and misery. Our very modest little flat is losing value, not because of the bricks and mortar, …

ermate.wordpress.com/2025/11/20/l...

Kemi Is Wrong: Scrapping the Human Rights Act Betrays Disabled Citizens Kemi Badenoch says it’s time for Britain to leave the European Convention on Human Rights. She frames it as a question of sovereignty, control, and national interest. But for citizens with disabili…

ermate.wordpress.com/2025/10/05/k...

Crossroads (but definitely not the Hotel you know !) Hertfordshire’s local government, like much of the UK, now stands at a pivotal moment. Citizens tell me they feel increasingly disconnected from county councillors, who rarely engage beyond staged …

ermate.wordpress.com/2025/05/04/c...

Universal Despair As a social worker, I’ve witnessed the devastating toll of austerity under successive Conservative governments, and now Labour is following suit, cloaking their cuts in deceptive rhetoric. Keir Sta…

ermate.wordpress.com/2025/06/20/u...

Behind Every ‘Inadequate’ Is a Truth We Must Face When the Care Quality Commission (CQC) recently issued its first inadequate rating for Blackpool Council adult social care services, it wasn’t just a headline. It was a moment of truth. The Communi…

ermate.wordpress.com/2025/08/12/b...

Indifferent (Why the Delay in the LeDeR Report Signals a Deeper Failure) The delayed release of the 2023 Learning from Lives and Deaths (LeDeR) report, meant to investigate the deaths of learning disabled and autistic people in England is not just a bureaucratic hiccup.…

ermate.wordpress.com/2025/07/16/i...

Let’s give this a whirl 😁

This is my current (doctoral) research project, let me know if you are ( or know ) a social work in England who'd be interested in participating.