The Times should apologise for Kathleen Stock’s shockingly ableist article

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  • Post last modified:12 August 2026

This weekend I had the unfortunate luck of stumbling across an opinion piece in the Times by the academic, philosopher and transphobe Kathleen Stock. In a nutshell, Stock argues that Gen Z women are pretending to have chronic illnesses and invisible disabilities, and that using walking sticks has become some sort of trend influenced by social media. Raising suspicion in a society that already dismisses women’s health As a millennial woman with hypermobility syndrome, who may one day need a walking stick – I had to use one during the final weeks of my pregnancy – I was immediately incensed. I…

Continue ReadingThe Times should apologise for Kathleen Stock’s shockingly ableist article

Senior DWP figure made ableist joke outside Access to Work inquiry

A senior civil servant in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) made an ableist joke whilst waiting to give evidence on the department’s failings. Disability News Service reports that Neil Couling, director general of DWP services and fraud, made the joke surrounded by other senior figures in a corridor in Portcullis House. They were all waiting to give evidence to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the National Audit Office’s (NAO) joint inquiry into Access to Work. Couling shows exactly who the DWP are The DWP came under fire because it’s quietly cutting Access to Work whilst forcing more disabled…

Continue ReadingSenior DWP figure made ableist joke outside Access to Work inquiry