For when you feel powerless
Practical tips for when everything is hopeless
Content warnings: This piece contains talk about the genocide in Gaza,
I’m back after a week off. Unfortunately, not even the iron gates of Center Parcs could protect me from the ✨state of things✨.
I thought a lot about what I wanted to write about this year and how this newsletter could continue to serve as a personal journal while also proving useful to the growing subscriber base.
One thing I keep coming back to is how hopeless I feel. If you live in the UK, then you’ll know that this week’s news cycle was dominated by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Enoch Powell impression, which damned immigrants in a poor attempt to pander to the Labour Party's voters lost to Reform.
A couple of weeks ago, we had a local council election. It was the first time in my voting life that I struggled to choose a candidate.
For context, I live in the North East. We vote Labour. Our grandparents lost their jobs thanks to Thatcher’s neoliberalist tirade in the late 1970s and early 1980s. We are descendants of shipbuilders, miners, and steelworkers. We will always vote for the party that prioritises workers’ rights, including trade unions, affordable housing, and pensions.
But Starmer’s time in office has proven that this is no longer what the party stands for.
Add that to his vocal support of the Supreme Court bill to deny the rights of trans women as women… and you’ve got yourself a tricky time to be on the left wing of politics.
Since many people obviously had the same dilemma as I, likely resulting in a split vote for Greens and Lib Dems on the left, we saw Nigel Farage’s far-right party, Reform, win a significant number of council seats.
This might be a battle of local issues, but the ideological war is far, far bigger
I wrote a few weeks ago about the return of politics to music and how Irish rap group Kneecap has been facing attempts to silence and censor their vocal support of the Free Palestine movement. Just this week, a screening of Kneecap’s film was axed from a Cheshire cinema following local councillors' pressure.
So, it wouldn’t be unfair to say that we, the left, are failing. Even our right to vote as citizens is difficult to exercise when the choices on the ballot don't align with our views.
The Overton Window is a political theory that refers to the range of views that are considered politically acceptable within a mainstream society. We are living in a huge window shift. Protesting is becoming dangerous, meaning standing up for what you believe could risk your career or family.
So, what can we actually do? As individuals? This thought has been circling in my head all week while I jogged the steep hills of Whinfell Forest and cycled to the swimming pool for a daily dip with my husband and toddler.
I decided to dedicate this newsletter to listing some things we (and you specifically) can do right now to feel like you are impacting people’s lives and your own.
Here are some of the big problems floating around in my mind, and the easiest way you could make a real difference today:
1. People are hungry, and the cost of living is through the roof.
The UK government estimates around 11 million people are living in food poverty.
In 2024, The Trussell Trust distributed 3.1 million emergency food parcels from its community food banks – the most parcels ever distributed in a year and nearly double the number compared to five years ago.
In the same period, more than 655,000 people used a Trussell Trust food bank for the first time.
How can you help?
Pick up extra food and toiletries on your next supermarket shop and drop them in the food bank collection box at the end. This is a very easy and affordable way to make a tangible difference.
If you can afford it, set up a monthly direct debit to The Trussell Trust. You can do this from your business as long as you don’t claim gift aid, and it will help reduce your tax liability.
2. Hygiene poverty is worse than ever
The Hygiene Bank found that 4.2 million people are living in hygiene poverty in the UK. While tragic, this stat is unsurprising given that 600,000 more people fell into absolute poverty in the year between 2022-23.
Hygiene poverty disproportionately affects disabled people, unemployed people, people in lower-income households and those from ethnic minority backgrounds.
How can you help?
Find your local Hygiene Bank on their website. Here in the North East, we have The Hygiene Bank Newcastle, which welcomes donations of both financial and product items. Many food banks also take donations of toiletries.
3. Trans people are fighting for their rights (and losing)
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling against the recognition of trans women as women (even with Gender Recognition Certificates), many of us allies have felt truly powerless in our mission to fight back.
How can you help?
Firstly, listen to trans people.
hosted an anonymous transman on his newsletter a few weeks ago, where the writer explains the specific struggles he faces, and how this ruling and other political ideology impacts his daily life.I highly recommend reading that piece here:
You can also support trans people by joining a protest, if you are able to. What The Trans has a list of protests on this weekend, as well as dates of trans pride events in June.
If you work in a position of power, or have the ability to speak in front of a board or council, you can use your influence to testify for trans rights. Take a look at this guide from Advocates For Trans Equality to learn how to do this in a practical and safe way.
4. People are dying in Gaza
This final point is one that I have been struggling with the most. The feeling of powerlessness knowing that people, including babies and children, are dying without food and aid, due a genocidal war—that is not only not condemned by our government but enabled due to the UK’s sale of arms to Israel, is as much, much bigger issue than any of us can control.
Knowing that very little food or aid is being allowed into the territory right now, we are unable to make an easy donation to any single organisation, knowing that it will definitely put food in a baby’s mouth.
That being said, there are some ways you can try to make a difference…
How can you help?
It has been more than 70 days since aid reached the people of Gaza. This means that while I strongly encourage you to donate to human rights organisations, it doesn’t necessarily mean that money will get to the right people.
A few organisations are working on the ground in Palestine, including the Palestine Red Crescent Society, which is part of the International Red Cross and also recognised as an independent Palestinian National Society. You can donate to the Red Cross Gaza appeal, or directly to the Red Crescent Society.
Even by supporting these organisations, we, as individuals, cannot end the war. However, we can take civil action, like writing to our local MPs about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Instructions on how to do this are here.
Other than that, we can continue to be voices for the voiceless and keep the topic of Gaza at the forefront of the zeitgeist every single day.
Like Kneecap’s manager Daniel Lambert said in a recent interview with RTÉ: “Children are starving to death, and we're spending six or seven days talking about Kneecap.”
Do not let the media dictate what matters to us.
Be critical of what you read.
Question their motives.
Don’t sacrifice your morals.
As individuals, we might feel powerless. But together we could be strong.
As I mentioned earlier, we’re back from a short week at Center Parcs, one of my favourite places to go (and not that pricey during term time!).
Here’s a photo of Potter enjoying the off-lead area:
Here are some things I've enjoyed over the last week:
📚Ordinary Saints by Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin - My favourite book of the year so far! It tells of a millennial woman who is largely estranged from her Irish catholic family when she finds out her late brother is being considered for sainthood.
📺 Taskmaster (Channel 4) - One of my top shows is back on our screens, and it’s a good series so far!
That’s all from me,
See you next week,
Ellen x
💌 About this email
I’m Ellen, and I write about mental health for the chronically online. I am a freelance copywriter, strategist and web designer, and I work from home with my husband, Craig, at Content By The Sea. We have two rescue greyhounds, Potter and Harmony, and a toddler.
I started this newsletter in March 2020 and have sent over 200(!) emails; currently, I have over 1,300 subscribers. I write about a wide variety of topics, including diet culture, my love of running, jealousy, my life falling apart, mam guilt, and this dystopian world we all live in.
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My first time not voting Labour, too. Utterly disenfranchised and appalled by what they stand for now. Thank you for this ✊
So much YES to all of this. Thank you ❤️