Disabled people risk being left in the cold in a sustainable energy future, University of Leeds researchers warn

GryphonEditorAdm on 13 December 2021

A new study reveals that disabled households in the European Union currently consume 10% less energy than other households, as well as being 5% more likely to experience energy poverty.

University of Leeds researchers warn that disabled people in the EU are already energy disadvantaged and therefore need greater consideration in planning for energy policy aimed at tackling the climate crisis.

The study, published today in Nature Energy, provides a comprehensive analysis of the energy use of disabled households in the European Union — including England — in various energy consumption areas, such as transport, leisure, food and health services. 

Using consumption data from 19 countries in the EU in 2010, Dr Diana Ivanova and Professor Lucie Middlemiss of the Sustainability Research Institute, show that while disabled people use less energy, it is not necessarily through choice and potentially it is at the cost of disabled people not having their needs met for energy and other resources.

Professor Middlemiss said: “Disabled people are largely invisible in environmental policy and practice, and rarely discussed as having particular needs or facing particular challenges. This is a glaring oversight as we try to move towards a more sustainable future.

“Following the Glasgow COP26 climate change conference, we are all thinking more about how our energy consumption should change but that cannot come at the cost of people with different needs.

“It is critical to understand how disabled people are consuming their energy, and if their current needs are being met. This will enable us to reduce energy consumption safely and in a way that allows disabled people to live decent lives.”

Disabled household energy use for basic needs and services, such as food, energy at home, water, and waste, is similar to other households. However, disabled households have lower energy use for leisure services, such as recreation, hotels, restaurants and travel services.

Disabled households also have lower energy consumption for mobility, both in air transport and motor fuel, and lower energy spend on education than other households – suggesting lower opportunities to access education.

It is notable that disabled households tend to under-consume transport and leisure activities even when compared to households with similar incomes.

Disabled households’ limited consumption of leisure services highlights an important inequality, suggesting that disabled people have fewer opportunities to engage in fun and relaxing activities that require energy consumption.

The similar consumption of energy for basic needs between disabled and non-disabled households of the same income is also a concern. Often, disabled people have a greater need for energy in the home: for life-supporting machinery or to keep warmer, or wash more frequently than others.

In the light of these greater needs, the similar consumption levels to other households suggest that energy in the home might be being under-consumed by disabled households.

To date, there is very limited research on the needs and experiences of disabled people in the environmental literature. This is despite the fact that disabled people are regularly supported by governments in developed nations (including EU nations) and seen as important targets of social policy.

Professor Middlemiss said: “Disabled people may also be more vulnerable to climate change consequences such as extreme temperatures or emergency relief being inaccessible.

“When we consider that of the 446 million people living in the European Union, around 100 million are believed to be disabled, disability is a topic that merits more attention from environmental scholars and policymakers.

“These findings also support our earlier call to include the energy poor, in all their diversity, in energy transition planning.”

The paper Characterising the energy use of disabled people in the European Union towards inclusion in the energy transition is published in Nature Energy 13 December 2021 (DOI: 10.1038/s41560-021-00932-4)

The Super Six: Leeds Festival announces its 2022 headliners

GryphonEditorAdm on 9 December 2021

Perhaps one of the most scrutinised UK festival line-ups every year, Reading and Leeds always finds itself at odds with past, present and future generations when choosing its headliners. However, there can be no doubt this time around that Melvin Benn and co. have assembled a colossal set of six headliners, as it retains its double main stage set up for 2022.

Arguably the most ‘Reading and Leeds’ act that possibly exists, it was inevitable that the Arctic Monkeys would one day return to the fields after an eight year hiatus, and an excess of desperate pleas on Twitter. No other artist caters to as wide an audience as the Monkeys. Despite their divisive sixth album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, their earlier hits continue to resonate with youngsters all over the UK, even if not as strongly with the band themselves – as frontman Alex Turner has once said. Their closing set will be unmissable, and could surely pose a challenge for the largest crowd in the festival’s history.

Off the back of a meteoric rise and a Mercury Prize, Dave takes his deserved spot at the top of the bill on Saturday 27th August. The man of the moment has proved his mettle in a festival context, headlining Parklife 2021 in support of his critically acclaimed album We’re All Alone In This Together. His personal, raw lyricism manifests itself in such a unique way that has set him apart from the crowd, and he will follow in the footsteps of his good friend Stormzy in making the jump from his humble London beginnings to the mighty main stage.

It is almost an insult to Download Festival that R&L has stolen the mighty Rage Against The Machine, for their first UK shows in twelve years. Their message and fury is timeless, with the current global political climate perhaps explaining their necessary reunion. Few could have imagined seeing ‘Killing In The Name’ ring around Bramham Park once again, yet miracles do happen – and RATM will be back to display their legendary credentials to a new generation – with aplomb. 

Over on the Main Stage West, Bring Me The Horizon put an end to years of rumours by finally taking their headline slot, alongside their Sheffield school friends in the Monkeys. Expect electrifying production and a ‘rollercoaster’ of a show that will span from deathcore to hyper-pop. In what will be an interesting juxtaposition with RATM, Halsey will bring her remarkable new album across the Atlantic for the first time. This project has seen arguably her most ambitious musical experimentation yet, and combined with her renowned stage presence, her set will definitely win over the more alternative crowd. To round off the sextet, the household name of Megan Thee Stallion joins Halsey as the two first female headliners since Paramore in 2014. While this statistic is unacceptable, it is encouraging to see the festival attempt to achieve a more diverse, inclusive line-up and who better to book than such an empowering, dominant girl-boss with a chart-topping back catalogue.

Whilst the undercard may be a decisive factor for punters, we can rest assured that this is one of the strongest sets of headliners ever amassed. Tickets for Leeds Festival 2022 go on sale here, this Friday 10th December at 9am.

UCU Strikes continue on campus 

GryphonEditorAdm on 7 December 2021

This story appeared on the front page of The Gryphon on 3rd December 2021.

The University and College Union, one of the largest higher education trade unions in the UK, will continue industrial action for a third day in their fight for better working conditions for higher education staff. The University of Leeds is one of 58 institutions going on strike this week with 75.2 percent of its local UCU branch members voting in favour of taking strike action.

UCU’s dispute with University management is centered around four fights which according to their website are  “falling pay, the gender and ethnic pay gap, precarious employment practices, and unsafe workloads”. 

Speaking to The Gryphon on the picket line outside the Parkinson Building on Wednesday, Vicky Blake, the UCU President, spoke of her reasons for striking. 

“Over the last 12 years, in real terms, a 20% pay cut across all, we have huge inequality in pay as well. I think it shocks people to hear this – the gender pay gap is 15.5%, the pay gap between Black and White staff is 17%, and there’s a disability pay gap of 9%. We have huge levels of casualisation – so where people are on insecure contracts. So over a third of academics are on insecure contracts, and increasing numbers of academic-related professional staff are also on insecure contracts. A lot of people who teach in universities including this one are hourly paid, and often end up on zero-hour contracts as well, which I think surprises people because they don’t associate that model of employment with universities.” 

Pensions are also a key issue in the current strikes which continues the trend from the previous few years of industrial action in higher education. The UCU says that since 2011, university staff’s USS pension has effectively been cut by £240,000 and employers are proposing further cuts – amounting to 35% – to staff’s guaranteed pension.

Also on the Parkinson picket line, Mark Taylor-Batty, Senior Lecturer in Theatre Studies and Deputy Head of School in the School of English, spoke of his despair at the current state of the university pension scheme.

“If you were to go to your parents and say, “would it be okay for you to lose 35% of your salary tomorrow and just live on that?”, they would say: “No, of course not!” But that’s what we’ve been told and what we have to expect after retirement.” He added: “Now the younger members of staff who are just starting out might lose 40-50%. Depending on inflation, they could lose 80%. That’s hundreds of thousands of pounds of our own money that they’re proposing to take away from us.” 

“Why? Because they’ve done an evaluation of the pension in the middle of Covid, so historically one of the worst times that you might look at the stock market to value forward, and they predicted that the value of the pension scheme won’t reach 80 or 90 billion until 2250. And on that basis, we have to have a cut in our pensions because that money is obviously needed to pay pensions in the future. But it’s worth 80 or 90 billion today in reality, not 2250, not in a century’s time. It’s worth that now, and all we’re saying is “can we have an evaluation based on reality?”

After the strikes were announced, UCU General Secretary Jo Grady said: “UCU has repeatedly asked employers to meet with us to try to resolve these disputes. But while we set out pragmatic solutions that could halt widespread disruption to UK campuses, university bosses refuse to revoke unnecessary, swingeing pension cuts or even to negotiate on issues like casualisation and the unbearably high workloads that blight higher education. 

A resolution to this dispute is simple. But if employers remain intent on slashing pensions and exploiting staff who have kept this sector afloat during a pandemic then campuses will face strike action before Christmas, which will escalate into spring with reballots and further industrial action.”

Tim Goodall, Employability Office for the Faculty of Biological Sciences, concurred adding that  “For some students, they see the change in higher education, and they understand that [the strikes] will benefit students in the long term. If we actually had decent workloads, we would have time to properly prepare our teaching and to give really detailed feedback that the students are looking for. I haven’t had time to do that this semester, and I feel awful.”

Throughout the three planned days of industrial action, UCU have invited a range of guests to address the crowds on the picket line including Leeds MPs Richard Burgon and Alex Sobel. Wednesday’s guest speaker John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington and former Shadow Chancellor, was unequivocal in his support for the striking students and staff.

“I’ve been on a number of UCU picket lines over the last few months. Everyone I talked to now has just basically said enough is enough,” he told the crowd. “They’ve had enough of pay cuts effectively, they’ve had enough of working themselves into the ground at times, and at the same time the insecurity. I was at the picket line at the Royal College of Arts and I was astounded at the number who are on temporary contracts at that college.”

He added: “What’s interesting for me is the scale of support that you’ve got. I’ve been talking to student unions, and students themselves have been supporting you, but in addition to that, I think you’ve got a large amount of support amongst their families in the wider community. They know what you’re up against. They know what you’re trying to do in terms of providing a good quality education to our young people and others and a lot of people have been given a second chance at education as well at a number of our colleges. They know what you’re trying to do and they support you and that’s why this dispute is so important.”

However, UCU has not found solidarity in all corners of campus. In a move that shocked many, Leeds University Union abandoned their traditional stance of neutrality to announce that they would not be supporting the UCU strikes

The LUU Student Executive said in their statement “the challenge we face as student leaders is that we don’t believe this current strike action is in the best interest of students, and our focus has to be what’s in the best interest of our members.”

They go on to describe the “added stress, lost learning and delayed teaching” that they claim the strikes will cause and further highlight that “those most affected by the strikes will be our marginalised students, specifically our disabled, international and working-class students.”

LUU’s stance was unpopular with many students and staff alike. Sharifah Rahman from the campaign group Leeds Student Staff Solidarity told The Gryphon: “We feel they made the wrong statement and that, in fact, our union as a student union should represent us and should stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with the UCU.”

Rahman added that “LUU doesn’t work as a trade union; it works as a bureaucratic kind of organ and as a business and that’s what we don’t want. We want a democratically run student union that represents us. We will continue to put pressure in favour of the UCU. We recognise at the LSSS that the best interests of students are the same as the best interests of staff. It’s the same fight.”

The National Union of Students and the majority of other campus student unions have supported the strike. A poll of students conducted by the NUS this month found that 73% backed UCU’s action while 9% opposed it.

Upon request for comment, a spokesperson from the University of Leeds told The Gryphon: “Our priorities are to protect the interests of students, including minimising any disruption to them; retain the cohesion of our community; and protect the standards of Leeds degrees.”

“The future of the USS pension scheme (Universities Superannuation Scheme) can only be resolved at a national level. It cannot be solved by this or any other university alone, and we hope that all parties remain open to talking, despite the outcome of the ballot.”

“Many of the other issues in dispute are within our gift to address, and we are already taking action to address UCU’s concerns about workload and casualisation.”

Head of Steam: Is this the best bottomless brunch in Leeds?

GryphonEditorAdm on 3 December 2021

Bottomless brunch: at this point it’s an institution. The boozy offspring of breakfast and lunch conjures up images of cackling huns swilling Pornstar Martinis while pumping the air with arms seemingly sponsored by Pandora, Michael Kors and Vivienne Westwood. As such, Head of Steam may not be an obvious choice for the Molly-Mae of meals. The self-proclaimed “purveyors of great beer”, with 15 locations across the UK (including 3 in Leeds), is more often associated with pump pulling and pub quizzing. Yet, the chain gastropub serves up a brunch that is certainly no half pint. 

At £25 per person, the brunch price Head of Steam on Park Row is comparable, if not slightly cheaper, to other city centre venues. The choice of alcohol for your 90-minute pissup include Prosecco, Aperol Spritz, Bloody Mary, Craft Beer Flight, Wolf Pilsner Cameron’s Cask and Aspall Cider. Although that list could do with the addition of an extra cocktail – perhaps a Mimosa or a Pornstar Martini  – the option of beer and cider sets Head of Steam apart from other brunch spots by broadening its target audience. Who doesn’t want to go brunching with their lager lout pals?

Another thing that must be noted is the attentiveness of the staff. Our server personally selected a beer for me that was off the brunch menu when I told him what I like to drink. Not only that, but the pace of serving was astounding. It’s obvious when some brunch spots encourage their staff to mince about in order to serve fewer drinks to punters and save money. This is the only bottomless brunch where I have been served drinks faster than I can down them. This was the aim of brunch at HoS the manager told me: a true man of the people. 

Belgian Waffles and Eggs Benedict

As for the food, it was pretty top class. When I brunch, I like to mix meat and sweet so the Belgian waffles topped with Duvel-flavoured syrup and fried chicken was a perfect choice for me. Everything on the plate tasted sublime and the portion size was generous. My friend was similarly impressed with eggs Benedict – a dish so easy to mess-up but divine when done right. 

If you book a brunch at Head of Steam you can expect friendly and efficient service, sizeable portions of delicious food and an ever-flowing cascade of drinks. Next time you go brunching, ditch the pretension of a glass-fronted cocktail bar and head to this gastropub. Brunch is the best meal of the day and this is the standard it deserves.