Ella Staddon, Co Chair-Elect MT22 In 1967, David Steel brought forward the seventh attempt in 14 years to decriminalise abortion in the UK. Nearly word-perfect to the four attempts that had been introduced since 1965, it had been co-sponsored and drafted by Labour MP Renée Short, whose crusade to reform abortion law had begun upon her election. The act legalised abortion on certain grounds following authorisation from two registered practitioners in England, Wales and Scotland, with a conscience clause to allow doctors to refuse treatment on grounds of religious belief. In October 1964, one of ..read more

Anas Dayeh, Disabilities Officer TT22 On the 30th of April, I was on a podcast by Left Whingers (@Left_Whingers on Twitter) to talk about hidden disabilities and the experiences I’ve had throughout my life as a result of having dyslexia. I’ve always found academic life difficult. If you were to say to 14-year-old Anas that he would be studying at Oxford in a few years’ time, then he would have said that you’re lying. I had incredibly poor performance in school, getting 50/100 in Chemistry and barely passing other subjects. As I was living in the Middle East at the time, where awareness about D ..read more