Taj Ali

1 month ago | hyphenonline.com | Taj Ali

A few months ago, a woman broke down in tears in front of me at the Discover Islam centre in Luton. Every Friday, the organisation runs a curry kitchen, providing free meals to people in need. While waiting in line to collect her dinner, she showed me photographs of black mould spreading across the walls of her flat. “How can a human live like this?” she asked.

2 months ago | hyphenonline.com | Taj Ali

On Saturday 12 April, parliament was recalled for the first time on a weekend since the Falklands war in 1982. On the agenda: emergency legislation to take control of Chinese-owned British Steel and prevent the company from shutting down its two remaining blast furnaces in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire. If they ceased to operate, the UK would have become the only G7 nation unable to produce its own steel and thousands of workers would have been thrown onto the scrapheap.

Mar 26, 2025 | hyphenonline.com | Taj Ali

Last week, I was talking to my friend Matthew about the Labour government’s plan to preside over the most devastating cuts to disability benefits on record. His mother has progressive multiple sclerosis and receives a personal independence payment (Pip) of £72.65 per week. On 18 March, work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall told parliament of the government’s intention to slash £5bn a year from the benefits system by 2030.

Feb 27, 2025 | hyphenonline.com | Taj Ali

“Things will get worse before they get better,” declared Prime Minister Keir Starmer in an address to the nation in August 2024. He wasn’t lying about the first part and the jury is out on the second. Labour’s net approval rating now stands at -54%. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, meanwhile, is topping the polls at 27%, according to recent YouGov figures. The warning signs were already there.

Jan 28, 2025 | hyphenonline.com | Taj Ali

Question: what do you get when you cross an administrator, a counsellor, a psychologist, a social worker and, occasionally, a stand-in parent? Answer: the role performed by the average UK teacher on top of their already demanding educational duties. One moment they are preparing students for exams, the next they are supporting those with complex emotional needs and addressing safeguarding issues. For all that, teachers receive little recognition and even less reward.