In collaboration with the national human rights education charity Journey to Justice, this project uses the power of storytelling to upskill volunteers and create change in communities. It validates an educational toolkit and co-produces training materials that promote transformative engagement around solutions to economic (in)justice. The toolkit was developed by Journey to Justice (https://economicinjustice.org.uk/) and me in response to awareness of deepening economic inequality, made more pronounced by the pandemic. It hosts stories of individual and collective action and analysis of root causes of and possible solutions to economic inequality. To deliver its impact this project will host workshops with established community partners in the East and West Midlands – Sharewear Clothing Scheme and West Midlands Sustainable Schools Network. Using a mix of pre- and post-workshop questionnaires and follow-up interviews, the project aims to further understand the impact storytelling has to galvanise ‘ordinary people’ to take action for economic justice.

Published by Palgrave Pivot (2021), my book focuses on the interrelatedness of social movements and elections and develops the theoretical dimension of movement-voter interaction. It posits that social movements engage in communicative tactics during elections to highlight specific issues and to convey ideas, values and beliefs to the voter. Applying methodological tools from political discourse analysis, the book considers the breadth of on- and offline tactics employed by the UK movement groups The People's Assembly Against Austerity and Extinction Rebellion in the 2015, 2017 and 2019 general elections. It reveals that both groups actively engaged in movement-voter interaction that sought to shine a light on the issues of austerity and the environment while placing democratic pressure on a future government. Qualitative content analysis of concomitant media coverage and manifesto pledges reveals the extent to which various messages rooted in movement-voter interaction were amplified or challenged by these electoral actors. The book finally argues the case for social movement-voter interaction as a key aspect of social movement and political communication research.

From May to September 2020, I was the project developer for Journey to Justice's Economic Injustice project. I researched and analysed the UK’s wealth gap, identified stories of collective and individual action that challenge inequality and economic injustice, facilitated the creation of an online action pack, and participated in grant writing and fundraising. I have continued as a volunteer and in March 2021 became the Project Coordinator responsible for delivering this major national project focused on economic justice.