Ruth Wishart

Latest articles from Ruth Wishart

Ruth Wishart: Johnson’s regiment of women will do nothing for feminism

IN the immortal words of that sainted political guru, Tammy Wynette, “sometimes it’s hard to be a woman”. But it’s a complete skoosh compared with how hard it is to be a feminist confronted by Boris Johnson’s Cabinet – a line-up hailed as emblematic of modern Britain, and allegedly, one letting more female talent punch holes in that stubborn glass ceiling.

Ruth Wishart: Sadly, privilege is still the established order in Britain

THINK of a number under 10 and double it. And you’ll still be short of the number of Old Etonians who have sauntered into 10 Downing Street. If Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson picks up the keys to the poshest black door in London he will be the 20th former pupil of that establishment to get the top job in UK politics.

Online abuse

In fact, most of the speakers at last week's annual conference of the Scottish Association for the Study of Offending flagged up a rather different set of concerns. While the Scottish police, judiciary and academia continue to pursue ever more sophisticated means of identifying paedophile rings operated by adult men, the prevalent fear now is the increase in inappropriate peer-to-peer use of social media.

No benefit in change

Instead, when he came to a seminar in Edinburgh last week he had to dodge the verbal bullets of some of the people most affected by his wholesale reinvention of the welfare state.

Migration policy is out of tune

It was, after all, the language and the culture of his forebears. He took that passion into his PhD in composition studies at Napier University in Edinburgh which he completes this May. And it informs his other great love, the teaching of music students at Stow College in Glasgow and the Academy of Music and Sound in the city where he now lives with his wife, who currently studies at Glasgow School of Art.

Care sums don't add up

The theory behind the new "self directed packages" approach was that choice would be king; people in need of care and support would be given notional control of their budget and select services best suited to their individual needs.