Natalie Morris

The colour of poverty: Black and brown children are at the sharp end of the crisis Policies to tackle child poverty that don’t acknowledge the impact of race are simply not going to cut it.

Child poverty remains deeply stratified along racial lines. While nearly one in three UK children now live in poverty, the burden falls much more heavily on Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Black, and Asian families.

✍️ @nmozz.bsky.social

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The colour of poverty: Black and brown children are at the sharp end of the crisis Policies to tackle child poverty that don’t acknowledge the impact of race are simply not going to cut it.

Next, our editor @nmozz.bsky.social explored the impact of race on child poverty.

"The more explicit we are in defining the problem, the better our chance at devising efficient solutions that are genuinely effective in the communities that need them the most."

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We’re in an STI crisis. Once again, Black women are being left behind The gonorrhoea vaccine should be a major breakthrough, but young Black women are being left out of sexual health policy – with devastating effects.

The gonorrhoea vaccine should be a major breakthrough, but young Black women are being left out of sexual health policy – with devastating effects.

“Left for dead” on Snowdon by white hiking group: Rural racism is not a myth Half of ethnic minority Brits have reported “negative experiences” in nature because of their racial identity, according to new research shared exclusively with The Lead.

Half of ethnic minority Brits have reported “negative experiences” in nature because of their racial identity, according to new research shared exclusively with The Lead.

Black History Month is more important than ever – but it is being hollowed out Why we're shining a light on Black stories this month. Plus: The latest from Reform Watch, and everything our team is reading, watching and listening to this week.

This month, in the vacuum that should be being used to platform Black stories, that space is instead being filled with swelling hostility. Black History Month matters. In fact, it may be more important now than it’s ever been.

@nmozz.bsky.social

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Black History Month is more important than ever – but it is being hollowed out Why we're shining a light on Black stories this month. Plus: The latest from Reform Watch, and everything our team is reading, watching and listening to this week.

“As dangerous, nationalist ideologies creep closer to the political and cultural mainstream, it has never been more vital to ensure minoritised communities have a voice.”

Me for the @theleaduk.bsky.social on our Black History Month coverage:

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The news story shortlisted is this one on the abhorrent treatment of children in prison during the covid lockdowns, for @theleaduk.bsky.social

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Very powerful stuff from @nmozz.bsky.social. What have we become!?

This is not who we are The racists have been emboldened and sanctioned by our government’s own rhetoric – to now talk vaguely in terms of resistance is far too little, much too late.

The Prime Minister declared Britain will “never surrender the flag” to the far-right - but this has already happened, and Starmer is complicit. The racists have been emboldened by this government's own rhetoric - what we saw at the weekend is the consequence

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This is not who we are The racists have been emboldened and sanctioned by our government’s own rhetoric – to now talk vaguely in terms of resistance is far too little, much too late.

The mainstream political class has seamlessly adopted the far-right’s language of fear and othering. The Prime Minister declared Britain will “never surrender the flag” to far-right protesters. But this is exactly what has already happened.

✍️ @nmozz.bsky.social

national.thelead.uk/p/far-right-...

The Nigel Farage-ing of Britain is causing a terrible ripple effect - and families like mine are feeling it | Natalie Morris Suddenly mixed heritage Britons are being obliged to explain ourselves and our families. We will not be pushed to the margins, says journalist and author Natalie Morris

The Nigel Farage-ing of Britain is causing a terrible ripple effect - and families like mine are feeling it | Natalie Morris

The Nigel Farage-ing of Britain is causing a terrible ripple effect - and families like mine are feeling it | Natalie Morris Suddenly mixed heritage Britons are being obliged to explain ourselves and our families. We will not be pushed to the margins, says journalist and author Natalie Morris

After a summer of Farage, flags, and the drip-feeding of cruelty into the public psyche - I'm writing in The Guardian today about what this scary vibe shift means for families like mine who don't fit the increasingly narrow, racialised definition of 'Britishness'

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Live facial recognition has no place at Notting Hill Carnival The Met Police is pushing ahead with plans to use divisive LFR at Notting Hill – it's another terrifying slide towards state surveillance. Plus: Zoë Grünewald on Epping decision + latest ReformWatch.

The Met plans to use "dangerously inaccurate" LFR at Notting Hill Carnival with no meaningful consent & no clarity on what happens to your data

People of colour will feel the worst impacts of disproportionate surveillance first before it seeps outwards into society
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“We all tell stories through our bodies and we all trap stories in our bodies.”

Lanre Malaolu talks to @Nmozz.bsky.social about the importance of the body in his work.

Listen now: national.thelead.uk/p/the-lead-i...

WHEN IS IT NOT SMALL BOATS WEEK THO??
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

When is it wealth inequality week, eh?? WHEN DOES THAT COME AROUND?

It's time for sensible conversation about anti-Black racism From Diane Abbott, to racism at the Euros, to maternal healthcare failings – it has never been more important to call out antiblackness wherever we see it.

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Why is it controversial to suggest that anti-Black racism is different to other kinds of racism?

As @NMozz.bsky.social writes, in the days since Diane Abbott's (poorly worded) comments, we're reminded just how stark anti-Black racism is, especially for women.

Read more in today's newsletter ⬇️

It's time for sensible conversation about anti-Black racism From Diane Abbott, to racism at the Euros, to maternal healthcare failings – it has never been more important to call out antiblackness wherever we see it.

All forms of racism are abhorrent, *and* they are experienced differently - for all sorts of reasons. Yet too often, attempts at honest discussion are derailed by a mental block that turns debate into a spiral of defensiveness

My latest for @theleaduk.bsky.social

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ANSWER OUR READER SURVEY🎙️

As we approach the first anniversary of Labour coming into power, we want to know what you think of this government.

Use our reader survey to tell us exactly how well you think Labour are doing. Use the ranking system and then add your comments. (Link below )

I really hope legalising assisted dying doesn't come at the cost of improving palliative care. We need both. It's a travesty that hospices are run as charities and not government funded. Everyone deserves to die with dignity and comfort - it is possible and necessary

The second big loss Your first experience of death shatters your sense of safety... but this time around, nothing feels the same.

Can grief unravel you twice? This month's newsletter is all about the second big loss of your life, and how it can feel different - quieter, flatter heavier...

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Forget the implosions across the Atlanic and Reform psychodramas - it's time to deliver for our children Plus: The latest from The Lead North team, Hannah Fearn on Farage's baby boom plans, our latest ReformWatch + The Lead Digest of good reads and listens

"Increasing free school meals is not the silver bullet that will eradicate child poverty, but it’s a starting point."

@nmozz.bsky.social‬ reflects on Labour's decision to extend free school meals to an extra half a million children.

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Acutely unsafe: Social housing tenants are still waiting to see what better means Plus: Why Kier Starmer should worry less about Farage and more about himself, the latest ReformWatch, The Lead Digest, and our View from the North all in The Lead's weekend edition

Another baby has died after living in mouldy social housing. Akram was just 15 weeks old. His desperate parents reached out for help - nothing was done

A law to force landlords to act quickly on mould has been delayed. It won't be fully implemented until 2027:

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Five years since George Floyd – we are going backwards on race PLUS: Our view on the Brexit reset deal, latest ReformWatch, new from The Lead North and the launch of The Lead Digest.

It's half a decade since George Floyd was murdered. I can't remember the last time I heard a white person use the word 'ally'

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We won’t solve the social care crisis unless we start valuing caring professions We are in the grip of a social care crisis – the impacts are felt by all of us. Nothing will change until carers feel valued and respected.

Care workers have some of the most vital roles in a well functioning, empathetic and morally robust society, yet people in these jobs are underpaid, overworked and undervalued.

We won’t solve the social care crisis unless we start valuing caring professions:

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A motherless Mother's Day My first without my mum. My first as a mum.

My first Mother's Day as a mum. My first without my mum. Wrote this one for all the motherless mothers today 🩷🩷🩷

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Birth trauma: How maternity care is failing women Plus: The damaging myth of the 'perfect mother' + The Lead in conversation: "Everyone in society has a part to play in raising children"

"Black women are more likely to die as a result of childbirth than white women. Beliefs that Black bodies can endure more pain coexisting with contradictory views about Black and Brown bodies being defective result in more surveillance but less actual care."

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The Windrush education scandal: the lesser-known legacy of systemic racism still hurting generations Plus: Disability benefit cuts + The Lead Untangles Man Utd's new govt-backed stadium + Reform tear themselves apart

Now, survivors are calling for a public inquiry to examine how this was allowed to happen

This scandal needs attention and public outcry - the children and grandchildren of the Windrush generation are still feeling this trauma today:

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There is ANOTHER Windrush Scandal - thousands of Black children were labelled "educationally subnormal" and denied an education in the 1960s/70s

This racist policy was not accidental. It was by design. A deliberate undereducation of the Black population