Friday 8th May 2026 | Balamory, Benefits and a Brewing Storm
Morning. (or it was when I wrote this, it probably won't be by the time this gets posted but it might just be when you read it)
I’m watching Balamory and ignoring the political storm that’s brewing outside. Just for now. Then I’m going to watch the nurses drain Paul of platelets before going shopping with his bank card while he’s tubed up and can’t move. 😂 Whoop.
Aaargghhh! Politics, right now.
I became a local councillor to give back to Burntwood. This is the town that gave me some of the best parts of my childhood. It’s the town I came back to when I got married, to raise my children, because I love it here. For me, being a local politician has never been about Westminster. It’s about home. Being a good person. Helping make my hometown a better place for the people who live in it.
I’ve been a Labour councillor for two years. But in those two years, my life has turned completely on its head. I had a well-paid job — marketing manager for a house builder. We had a plan for me to make my way up the ladder so Paul could work less. I was on a good salary, I was well. I was able-bodied. I relied on no one and nothing. I had control. I had a super happy marriage (I still do, btw), but even that dynamic has had to shift in ways neither of us expected. Then the company I worked for went into liquidation, my job gone in the blink of an eye. We lost half our income, and it had a huge impact on my health. FND, depression, anxiety, ME/CFS, fibro, hemiplegic migraines and episodic migraines, aphasia, dissociative seizures. This list continues to grow as I do the tests. I can’t drive, walk unaided, and on really bad days I can’t even talk or get out of bed. My immune system is so low that I catch every bug and virus going.
Now I rely on the love and care of my family. The only income I have is decided by a complete stranger. My beliefs atm are taking a knock, not gonna lie. Some of the decisions coming out of Westminster have been hard to watch — especially when you’re living inside the system those decisions affect. And after the election results, I am genuinely anxious about what comes next.
I will keep doing my best for this town and the people in it, who are, mostly, the loveliest people, regardless of politics. But inside, I’m confused. I feel compromised. I’m scared. My health has taken a nosepe, and I now depend on benefits — the very benefits that are under review right now. And I’d be lying if I said that didn’t frighten me.
It’s not nice to be judged as an idiot or a bad person because of the party I represent. I didn’t choose my party because I believe everything it does without question. I chose it because it was the closest to what I believe and want to achieve. I didn’t make these decisions at Westminster. I was here, helping this town, contributing as much as my health allows, trying to make it a better place to live. I am a good person. I wish no one, of any political persuasion or none, any harm. On the days when my health and head allow, I will do everything I can to help.
So. The Timms Review.
The Timms Review is the government’s process for looking at whether the disability benefits system — including PIP — is “fit for purpose” as politicians seem to like to say. And that matters, because frankly? The current system isn’t fit for purpose. It’s been broken for years. People with permanent conditions being endlessly reassessed. Decisions made by people who’ve never met you, based on a form you had to fight to fill in on a good day. That’s not a benefits system that’s working. It needs to change.
But a review doesn’t automatically mean they’re coming for your money, like the media seems to be trying to convince us. When the government floated changes to PIP last year, over a hundred Labour MPs, including our own MP, said “no”. And the proposals were pulled. The review that replaced them is being co-produced with disabled people. 340 disabled people put their hands up to be part of the steering group. That’s not nothing.
The sensationalist media, of course, would rather you were terrified. Fear sells. And I get it. After years of being let down, the anxiety is completely understandable. I feel it too. I get scared. I can’t always read the news without my stomach dropping, because I know what it’s like when the system fails you. But other parties have been far more explicit about wanting to cut disability benefits, and cut them hard, based on the idea that claiming them is a “lifestyle choice.” I think that’s the real threat worth watching.
But here’s the thing. We can have our say. The Timms Review is asking to hear from the public, from people like us. And if we don’t tell them what our lives actually look like, how can we complain when the outcome doesn’t reflect it?
Yes. I would rather still be working in a career I absolutely loved. My health took that away, and it happened fast. But this is my reality now. And the best thing I can do with it, on a good day, is make sure the people making decisions about our lives actually understand what those lives are.
So I’m asking you: please take part. Have your say. Advocate not just for yourself, or just for this group — but for all of us who rely on benefits through no fault of our own, to live and to survive.
Please respond to the Timms Review. Closing date: 11:59pm on 28 May 2026.
The official Call for Evidence (public response form): GOV.UK — Timms Review Call for Evidence
A few useful things to know:
- You can submit your response anonymously.
- If you’d prefer not to use the online form, you can email timmsreview.callforevidence@dwp.gov.uk, or request alternative formats (audio, etc.) via the same address.
- Anyone can respond: disabled people, carers, and those with lived experience are particularly encouraged to do so.
- There are just four questions, answered in a single text box, so it’s not as difficult or complicated as it might sound.
You can read more about it at the main Timms Review page: GOV.UK — The Timms Review
Your voice matters. 💜
With love,
Sha 💜
aka The Wheely Happy Aardvark
#WheelyHappyDays #KOKO #FND #MECFS #Fibromyalgia #ChronicIllness #InvisibleIllness #WheelchairLife #DisabilityRights #BenefitsSystem #TimmsReview #PIP #Burntwood #Lichfield #Staffordshire