Dawn Foster

“Working within newspapers, so many of them are so used to the status quo, they're so invested in lobby journalism, and assuming that all politics happens in Westminster... but doing social affairs, I spend a lot of time out of London speaking to people who have been hit by cuts, or disabled, or who have been made unemployed.”

“The impact of punitive government measures is long-lasting and widens inequality and social discord.”

“Every rough sleeper is the product of political decisions that have created a safety net riddled with gaping holes. No one wants to sleep outdoors in sub-zero temperatures, but far too many will, while politicians continue to cut welfare provision and bludgeon councils with austeritymeasures.”

“Women, “the softer sex”, are expected to bare this emotional performance yet accept the fact it is undervalued, both classified as an intrinsic skill that accompanies living whilst female, and the belief that it cannot be taught formally, so is less valuable”

“Renters didn't used to be cursed: social housing offered millions of people a steady, safe and secure home for an affordable price.”

“Public opinion isn't formed independently, but driven by narratives from the political class and the media.”

“As austerity has drained the blood from public services, preventive services have been the first to suffer.”

“Good policymaking is evidence-based, and preventing crime and antisocial behaviour involves fixing the society we all live in, identifying risk factors and demographic characteristics that make some people more likely to become involved in certain crime, and then preventing those offences taking place as often as possible.”

“Christopher Isherwood's eponymous character in 'Mr Norris Takes the Train' reminds me of Boris Johnson, who seems to have stumbled and bumbled into power.”

“Hospitals are often grim places: being stuck on a ward is excruciatingly boring, especially when you're too ill to follow the plot of a book, and struggling to sleep through the guttural cries of people writhing in agony in adjacent beds.”

“Housing is predominantly presented as a generational issue: millennials aren't able to get on the property ladder in the same way their parents were. But while it's true that intergenerational fairness is an issue, this way of presenting the housing crisis glosses over much.”

“The luxury of time to write, and the confidence to do so, make it easier for the more affluent and when the most decorated novels all begin to resemble each other the tacitly accepted view of what a good novel must be (and must be about) shifts imperceptibly.”

“I've had grateful messages from people thanking me for being open about health on social media: from others with epilepsy who feel less alone; from a man who shows his daughter my tweets and Instagram pictures, and says she feels much less of a pariah knowing others are in the same boat; and from people asking for coping mechanisms and tips.”

“That 'woman becomes a mother' still makes a headline in 2015 reminds women that, for all their personal and collective achievements, society is still more interested in the limitations of biology, and rapt at the fact that women can - and do - make a wealth of choices about if and how they become a parent.”

“None of us are as insulated from poverty as we think.”

“The bedroom tax turfed people, many of them disabled, out of their homes, while the government disseminated myths about people living it up in council houses the size of small mansions.”

“The mental baggage involved in attempting to feed yourself when poor is immense. Being able to go into a supermarket and buy what you both need and want is incredibly freeing, but it's a luxury not appreciated by anyone who hasn't experienced longterm hardship.”

“For men, the Right Time to become a parent seems to be any time after reaching the age of consent.”

“Cooking requires time, effort and fuel: increasing numbers of people I've visited can't even afford to turn on the kettle for a cup of tea as they eke out every penny to feed their extortionate gas and electric meters.”

“It's rare for news of even the most geriatric male celebrity becoming a father to warrant several paragraphs of panicked speculation about a 'growing trend' of older parents.”