Dr Sarah Hughes

The story reveals something deeply painful and unjust about what can happen when people with serious mental
Illness are left untreated and abandoned by the systems that should do better. Well done Ed and Jodi #Tenderfoot

The result is a podcast that feels as human as it does artful: raw and desperate, yes, but also profoundly good. Wisecrack isn’t just another listen; it’s an experience. You carry it with you long after the episode ends.

What makes it sing is Ed’s extraordinary blend of comedy and storytelling. His timing is razor-sharp, his wit disarming, but it’s the depth of his craft that astonishes. He knows exactly when to undercut with humour, when to pause, when to let silence do the talking.

The narrative doesn’t flinch from the darkness, but neither does it exploit it—there’s a respect for the people and places at its centre that elevates it far beyond the standard true-story format.

#Wisecrack is one of those rare podcasts that manages to be both brutally compelling and heartbreakingly tender. It drags you into the raw desperation of the story and yet, somehow, leaves you feeling cared for in the telling.

Political Panto: Five Tests Behind the Curtain Dear Politicians,

🎭 Party conferences = theatre.
But what about leadership?

My five tests:
Gravitas
Polls
Language
Bedfellows
Performance

Most leaders fail at least one. Some fail them all.

#Politics #Leadership #ConferenceSeason

Relieved not to be attending party conferences this year - sorry @jemimaolchawski.bsky.social but it’s over to you! 🙏🏼

Anyone else reading #QualityLand by Marc-Uwe Kling - errrrrrrrr it’s extraordinary, disturbing and funny - dystopian storytelling at its best - deep enough but not so deep I can’t sleep!

"Trustees need to know, if they don't already, the pressure that third sector leaders are facing around the country right now."

@markrusselluk.bsky.social on the important role for trustee boards in promoting the wellbeing of senior leadership teams.

🎧 Podcast: bit.ly/4mgVYk7

This is such a classic, terrifying to watch as a child - even more terrifying to study I Claudius for Classics A Level - deep trauma and the lengths people go to for dominion over others. This TV production was groundbreaking!

The fact is Dianne Abbott walks the corridors of power knowing that people are saying despicable things about her. If ever you need inspiration about resilience, mission and sheer power of will - there she is. Shame on those who colluded, you couldn’t deal with even a tenth of what she has!

The Likability Trap In the last few weeks I’ve been asked how I tolerate not being liked, triggered by the multiple dissenting stories about women leaders.

Leadership isn’t a popularity contest.

My latest Women in Charge blog is about the likability tax, the myth of thick skin, and why “difficult women” often make the best leaders.

Revolutions aren’t run on likes.

#TheLikabilityTrap #WomenInCharge

Published our work today on young people’s experiences of the ‘missing middle’ of mental health support.

We were told of the emotional impact of struggling to access help.

You can read the overview of what we heard here👇🏻

English: lnkd.in/eQmHwf4D

Cymraeg: lnkd.in/enmV76Dt

Unpolished and Unapologetic: Shame, Class and Women in Power When I saw the Sun’s front page meme about Angela Rayner, my stomach turned.

Angela Rayner’s “scandal” shows how shame is weaponised — through impossible standards, public humiliation, and the new shame economy that turns vulnerability into clicks.

My piece about leadership and shame 👇🏼

Flags, Fear and the Cost of Hate Last summer, I was abroad watching my phone light up with images of racist and Islamophobic riots back home.

Immigration the great political red herring of our times, distracting from the real crises: housing, healthcare, poverty, injustice.

Patriotism should mean trestle tables, Victoria sponge, samosas & jollof rice. A flag that says you belong here, the kettle’s on.

open.substack.com/pub/drsarahh...

Out of Office, Still in Charge Self-Care Won’t Save Us (But It Helps)

Out of office, still in charge.
Burnout isn’t just tiredness, it’s a political issue.

Bubble baths won’t smash the patriarchy — but refusing to burn out just might.

New Women in Charge blog ⬇️ open.substack.com/pub/drsarahh...

#WomenInCharge #RestAsResistance #Burnout

The Algorithm Will See You Now I’ve been MIA for a while.

Are we sleepwalking into a future where bots replace priests, lovers, and friends. Dystopias don’t start with a bang — they start with a whisper.

👉 New blog: The Algorithm Will See You Now
🔗 open.substack.com/pub/drsarahh...

#Sutopian #AIandEthics #DigitalCulture

Oxfam named overall winner at the Charity Awards 2025

@oxfamgb.bsky.social has taken the Overall Award for Excellence at this year’s Charity Awards, for its pilot Women’s Rights Fund project supporting grassroots women’s rights organisations in four countries

🚨 New project alert! We're tackling gaps in UK poverty data with the Centre for Public Data, funded by @jrf-uk.bsky.social

Exploring how missing data affects communities & how admin data can drive better policy 📊

🔗 Read more: rss.org.uk/news-publica...

'Welfare reforms remain cruel policy despite changes - they are fatally flawed' Dr Sarah Hughes, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, says despite the concessions the government has made, the welfare reforms 'remains a cruel, short-sighted policy'

Punitive welfare policies have done untold harm while failing to achieve what their architects promised. The evidence is clear: cruelty does not build resilience — it deepens hardship. We can and must choose a different path — one based on dignity, hope and justice.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

❤️

Sarah Hughes: Beyond the tent – reflections on the Civil Society Covenant Mind’s CEO argues that the upcoming formal agreement between the sector and government must extend beyond Whitehall and allow for uncomfortable discussions…

Mind’s CEO @drsarahhughesceo.bsky.social argues that the upcoming formal agreement between the sector and government must extend beyond Whitehall and allow for uncomfortable discussions

Now I don’t know this for sure, but I really very much doubt the King is worried about Meghan and Harry dancing in their birthing video… Apparently an ‘expert’ says he would have thought it vulgar… Wild and even more wild it was a headline.
Ps. I thought it was epic!

Shock news: Elon & Trump are fighting on the internet 🥴Nobody could have seen this coming. Apart from… everyone 🙄

While those two battle for algorithmic dominance, my mum & I are in a much more civilised rivalry:

Papaver somniferum season is here. And things are getting serious! Mine are the red!

▶️ The Thursday Murder Club - Official Trailer Watch Trailer | 1:03

Tried to watch #TheLastOfUs - nope, no, thanks but no! I lasted 20 minutes of the first episode… Brilliant acting but the story is 😱🫣😥

Frankly I’m waiting for #ThursdayMurderClub joy! www.imdb.com/video/vi1350...

Six-day waits and security guards: the mental health crisis crippling A&E Every two minutes a patient with a psychiatric emergency attends hospital, where they are as twice as likely as others to wait 12 hours for treatment

Vital investigation by @kwajo.bsky.social and the @thetimes.com: Six-day waits and security guards: the mental health crisis crippling A&E

www.thetimes.com/article/efd1...

Sandi Wassmer: What charities should do following the Supreme Court ruling on sex Charities must continue to ensure their employees are protected from discrimination following April’s landmark ruling, the CEO of enei says…

Charities must continue to ensure their employees are protected from discrimination following April’s landmark Supreme Court ruling, the CEO of enei @sandiwassmer.bsky.social writes

That moment when both your safe foods becomes unsafe at the same time 😩 #neurospicywoes

Our response to this government white paper on immigration