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Prof Ruth Patrick

@ruthpatrick0.bsky.social
1.7K followers 649 following 488 posts

Professor of Social & Public Policy at University of Glasgow Perimenopausal | neurodivergent | navigating parenting kids with SEND

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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
ofc the pressures that parenting kids struggling with additional needs and/or mental health can push their parents further / away from the paid labour market! So preventative, positive investment in our public services will deliver improved outcomes not just for the young ppl but their parents too.
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
One of these days, I’m going to write something for someone about the ways in which my autistic seven year old is failed daily by the education, health and social care services that are simply not there for him. The trauma he’s faced will have lifelong impacts. Makes me so 😢😡
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Here’s hoping this is not the ‘new philosophy of social security’ Burnham trailed in Liverpool. A generation of young people are being failed by our threadbare public realm. Invest in fixing that and in supporting them. Axing social security is not the answer www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Key disability benefit for young people may be axed under major welfare changes
Exclusive: Plan under discussion involves intensive support to help young people into employment
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Changing Realities @changingrealities.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Timely piece from @uiscejordan.bsky.social in @theconversation.com - those in Liverpool for @labouruk.bsky.social conference should listen directly to those at the sharpest edge of the ongoing cost of living crisis {watch this space for more on this, thanks to @nuffieldfoundation.org funding}
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Ed Pybus @epybus.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Is the asset means test in Universal Credit really just a benefit rule? Or is it a hidden wealth tax? New research looks at how capital limits can impose very high effective rates of taxation on the savings and inheritances of low-income households.
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This gives me hope! My son was a voracious reader and has almost completed stopped from about the age of 11/12. I’ve given up trying to strategically place YA fiction in his vicinity! Hoping it’ll return in time….
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Congratulations Nasar! Sounds like a really vital and timely contribution. Will look forward to reading
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@nasarmeer.bsky.social @nasarmeer.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
1/ A slightly strange and lovely thing to be able to say, my book The Social Life of Justice is published tomorrow... www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This and all day long. These proposals are a click bait distraction from the very real struggles millions are facing as we go into winter with ever rising prices for essential costs & a threadbare social security system l
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Super sadly, this swim has been cancelled due to ominous weather forecast ! But @kittyjstewart.bsky.social and I will be back to do it in 2027 and we just hope our kind sponsors will allow us an extra 365 days to complete our challenge 😂
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Three days to this swim which is now such big news it has featured not once but twice on Newscast & includes a mention for my no one supporter, my mum @glasgowoldie.bsky.social (Not too late to support us all!)
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
I enjoyed this, and we should all add to what I can imagine would be a very long list. My own addition would be our sense of humour, country pubs & the beauty to be found so often on our doorsteps, including in my own home town of Bradford
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
When my father in law was dying I had a chat with a hospice about trying to move him, & even the care & kindness in that call contrasted so markedly w/ a completely overwhelmed hospital ward. The difference was so stark & no I don’t think any deaths are nice but there are still better & worse ones.
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
A week today! Support us ( @kittyjstewart.bsky.social and I) and @hopenothate.org.uk at the same time. What’s not to like?
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
Life’s getting a bit more crap here if you are a person from an ethnic minority 🧵
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
You are so lovely but I don’t think I’ll say anything you haven’t heard me say a thousand times before
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Sorry for your loss. I supported my partner when his father had a very bad death in hospital earlier this year and I feel this too, and in my very bones. Also (and as an aside) know that when my time comes I’d want a hospice and certainly not home given the demand that then places on family
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Lecture will reflect on collabs w/ some ace academics @aaronreeves.bsky.social @jdportes.bsky.social @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social @jedmeers.bsky.social @rodhick.bsky.social Mark Simpson @ulsteruni.bsky.social (sorry not sorry to leave the men till last 😂 4/4) www.eventbrite.com/e/annual-soc...
eventbrite.com
Annual Social Policy Lecture
Join us for our Annual Social Policy Lecture with Professor Ruth Patrick, University of Glasgow
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Lecture creates space to reflect on joint work done w/ amazing colleagues, including (but not only) @bethwcobbe.bsky.social @katiepybus.bsky.social Tracey Jensen @lancasteruni.bsky.social @cpaguk.bsky.social @sionedps.bsky.social Kayleigh Garthwaite www.eventbrite.com/e/annual-soc... (3 of)
eventbrite.com
Annual Social Policy Lecture
Join us for our Annual Social Policy Lecture with Professor Ruth Patrick, University of Glasgow
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Lecture creates space for me to reflect on joint work done w/ amazing colleagues, including (but not only) @beckshewer.bsky.social @annieirvine.bsky.social @katejandersen.bsky.social @haylesben.bsky.social @profkepickett.bsky.social & the ace Maddy Power (2 of) www.eventbrite.com/e/annual-soc...
eventbrite.com
Annual Social Policy Lecture
Join us for our Annual Social Policy Lecture with Professor Ruth Patrick, University of Glasgow
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The lecture creates a space for me to reflect on joint work done with amazing colleagues, including (but not only) @kittyjstewart.bsky.social @uiscejordan.bsky.social @lisa-scullion.bsky.social @milliemaglet.bsky.social @profsharonwright.bsky.social www.eventbrite.com/e/annual-soc... (1 of...)
eventbrite.com
Annual Social Policy Lecture
Join us for our Annual Social Policy Lecture with Professor Ruth Patrick, University of Glasgow
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
This lecture will draw on @nuffieldfoundation.org @therobertsontrust.bsky.social @trustforlondon.bsky.social @jrf-uk.bsky.social funded research & collabs w/ @resolutionfoundation.org @ippr.org (especially @safety-nets.bsky.social @changingrealities.bsky.social ) www.eventbrite.com/e/annual-soc...
eventbrite.com
Annual Social Policy Lecture
Join us for our Annual Social Policy Lecture with Professor Ruth Patrick, University of Glasgow
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
In or close by Sheffield on 7th October? If so, join me as I try to come up with something half-way coherent on the problems & possibilities for UK social policy research on poverty & social security for @sheffielduni.bsky.social Annual Social Policy Lecture www.eventbrite.com/e/annual-soc...
eventbrite.com
Annual Social Policy Lecture
Join us for our Annual Social Policy Lecture with Professor Ruth Patrick, University of Glasgow
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Hah! My own mother (a Mancunian now exiled to Scotland) is permanently correcting my grammar and I do know my own there was wrong but also think there’s a place for more colloquial English sometimes. It was injuries from running that converted me to swimming.
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Ah! You were correcting my grammar, not swimming too! A shame
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Really? Do you want to join our fundraiser? Hope to see you there
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
In just more than a week, me & @kittyjstewart.bsky.social are braving Scottish sea temps and jellyfish to swim the 1.3 miles from Holy Island to Lamlash on Arran! Trying to raise a few quid for @hopenothate.org.uk as we do so! Wish us luck www.gofundme.com/f/splashing-...
gofundme.com
Donate to Splashing into Lamlash for Hope not Hate, organized by ruth patrick
In just over a week, me (Ruth Patrick), & a great gang of women (including Ste… ruth patrick needs your support for Splashing into Lamlash for Hope not Hate
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Important & timely new analysis from @rob-devries.bsky.social @benbgeiger.bsky.social which reminds us that public attitudes to social security are far more nuanced (and often much more positive) than politicians might suggest, and many of us might (but shouldn't) assume natcen.ac.uk/publications...
natcen.ac.uk
BSA 43 | Attitudes to welfare | National Centre for Social Research
This chapter analyses public attitudes towards spending on disability benefits and relevant trends in attitudes to welfare spending more broadly.
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Aaron Reeves @aaronreeves.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
New paper w @samfriedman.bsky.social. We know elites try to convince ppl that they're ordinary via their class origin or their taste. But what happens when those attempts at ordinariness fail, and does this affect how we think about inequality. journals-sagepub-com.lse.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/10....
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Aaron Reeves @aaronreeves.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Another reason that we cannot forget that - despite the removal of the two child limit - we cannot forget about the Benefit Cap
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
👆 Article in Journal of Social Policy is co-authored with a dream team of Maddy Power @lshtm.bsky.social , @kittyjstewart.bsky.social @aaronreeves.bsky.social @katejandersen.bsky.social Mark Fransham @dspi-oxford.bsky.social & wider @nuffieldfoundation.org research included @cpaguk.bsky.social
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Late to share (cos life) We need to talk more about fact UK still has a Benefit Cap, & one that causes real, lasting harm, while ascribing the thousands of families affected with a power they do not have. 📖 New article on @nuffieldfoundation.org funded research www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
An impossible move? Households’ experiences of trying to escape the UK’s benefit cap | Journal of Social Policy | Cambridge Core
An impossible move? Households’ experiences of trying to escape the UK’s benefit cap
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
So sorry to read this Ali, and so very sorry for your loss. Thinking of you and all your family at this time x
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
@emann.bsky.social hi Emily! I don’t have a current number or email for you but wanted to get in touch. If you see this and are happy to be in touch will you email me ruth.patrick@glasgow.ac.uk hope things are good x
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Am I the last person in the world to discover the pink Pilates playlists? Getting me through making tea for eight (and three generations) after a 5am start, lots of work w/ @changingrealities.bsky.social @cpaguk.bsky.social @safety-nets.bsky.social & my seventh night solo parenting my four!!!
Chappel Roan
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George Eaton @georgeeaton.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Not said enough in recent weeks that Bridget Phillipson was the cabinet minister who did the most to secure the abolition of the two-child benefit cap (cited by Starmer as his proudest moment).
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Changing Realities @changingrealities.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Ella and Jonny told Radio 4's WATO what Burnham will have to do if he is to deliver the promised 'breathing space' to families like theirs (listen again from 15 mins in) Spoiler Alert: The VAT cut is a start, but much (much) more is needed. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
World at One - Burnham's new cabinet meets - BBC Sounds
Andy Burnham's new cabinet meets for the first time.
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Brilliant opportunity to join the @safety-nets.bsky.social team, working on never-more-timely @nuffieldfoundation.org funded research looking at the relationship between devolution and social security. More info here www.jobs.gla.ac.uk/job/research...
jobs.gla.ac.uk
Research Assistant
Job Purpose You will contribute to an exciting, major project, Safety Nets, exploring the relationship between devolution and social security in the UK working in a team led by Professor Ruth Patri...
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Starmer is not the only one moving on today. My youngest has his last day in a mainstream school, before moving onto more specialist provision in the autumn. A big, big day for us all as he says so long but not good bye to friends made at Saltaire Primary
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
@hetanshah.bsky.social is there an email address I can get you on? Wanted to invite you onto someting but couldn't see an email on the BA site.
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Kit Colliver @presentlyincorrect.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
At SPA conference, Baroness Ruth Lister just described surviving the Thatcher years as maintaining “finger in the dyke” politics. I’d like to check the provenance of the phrase but I’m afraid to Google it in a professional setting.
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Dr Uisce Jordan @uiscejordan.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
so brilliant to hear Ruth Lister share some big question responses from parents involved in @changingrealities.bsky.social on what gives them hope in dark times! @socialpolicyuk.bsky.social
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Sam returns repeatedly to the need to fix the foundations of our social security system. Powerful words and an agenda for change on child poverty shared with the @houseofcommons.parliament.uk Work & Pensions and Education select committees @debbieanadapta.bsky.social @helenhartstein.bsky.social
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Caroline and Sahar and Sam all flag the importance of having legally binding targets on driving child poverty down to hold both UK Government & devolved governments to account, & ensure that we ensure that all children have the chance to thrive [ @cpaguk.bsky.social ] www.ippr.org/articles/get...
ippr.org
Getting the child poverty strategy we need: A co-produced agenda for change | IPPR
Any credible child poverty strategy must act directly to put more money into parents’ pockets. This starts with the removal of the two-child limit and bene
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
And Sam shares how she had to travel 300 miles for a bone marrow transplant when her son was desperately ill. the Universal Credit system was completely unsupportive, & she was left entirely reliant on charitable provision.
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Ella welcomes the Child Poverty Strategy's commitment to ensure babies are discharged from hospital into adequate homes. She recounts being discharged from the intensive care unit with newborn twins into a flat that was rodent infested & completely unfit for habitation.
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
This really is worth a watch. Such damning evidence on the inadequacy of social security support & why much more is needed if we are to drive child poverty down & ensure all children are able to thrive. I hope Andy B and his advisers are watching.
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Kate Andersen @katejandersen.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Family Finances report and briefing out today! Our research shows that the Scottish Child Payment is reducing child poverty but more investment is needed if children are to go beyond surviving to thriving. Similar investment is needed in the rest of the UK. familyfinances.study/findings-rep...
familyfinances.study
Findings Report: What difference does targeted cash support make for families on a low income?
Examining the impact of the Scottish Child Payment in comparative perspective
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Prof Ruth Patrick @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
New seat reservation sign on my commute from @glasgow.ac.uk to Bradford. Don’t we all want (& even need) a bit of care and support, and day in, day out?
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@nasarmeer.bsky.social @nasarmeer.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Having spent the day, much like every other day at present, listening to journalists and broadcasters restate unsubstantiated claims, and elide the fact of difference with a trigger for racist violence, here are simple rules even Chris Mason might grasp. ⬇️
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