PGP / SPD My story:

  I should be able to speak on my hometown’s radio. I should be able to share my lived experience as a Newtonian, to explain why I have started a petition calling for the legalisation of regulated pepper spray for self-defence. My hard work should and could be printed and represented. I should be heard by the very community I belong to. Instead, I am being invited to speak by people outside of this town — radio presenters, podcasters, campaigners — who see value in my voice and my work. Support and representation should never be conditional. It should never be “sometimes.” It should never depend on who you’re liked by, controlled by, or aligned with. Many people locally have asked me to run for council. A growing number want me to represent the disabled community. And I will represent my community — but I cannot and will not step into a council culture where corruption, ostracism, and silencing are allowed to continue. I do more for this town independently, where I can be suppo...

Newton News/Newton Press, representation matters: To my friends who were waiting to see my Disability Awareness Speech photos with The Rotary Newton Aycliffe in the Newton News — I’m sorry to say I haven’t been printed again. Newton Press has failed to represent myself, my work, and my community. I had hoped this would be a chance to build bridges, to move past how poorly I’ve been treated in the past, and to ensure that our disabled community has a fair voice. I was even willing to repair those bridges and take down my factual review of my mistreatment if the paper had shown a sign of wanting resolution — by being fair, accessible, and inclusive towards myself and our disabled community. Sadly, that hasn’t happened. Personal biases clearly exist, and it seems they can’t be resolved — you can’t reason with the unreasonable. I’m sharing this here because I am a Newtonian, because the work I do matters, and because the people I help matter. The speech was a step in the right direction to...