Simon Duffy

Simon is Director of the Centre for Welfare Reform and Secretary to Citizen Network, a global cooperative to achieve a world where everyone matters. He has a background in social policy, disability and social care and is active in the global movement for basic income.

28 June 2022

Sheffield has almost no control over its own destiny, "not worthy of making decisions for ourselves", according to our hyper-centralised government.

5 February 2021

Ahead of a major social care conference in Sheffield, Simon Duffy from the Centre for Welfare Reform makes the case for a system that is rights-based, people-powered and truly local.

11 June 2020

Imagine if we, the people of Sheffield, could redesign the constitution of our city from scratch. I know this seems crazy. Who would let us do such a thing? But just imagine.

21 April 2020

The crisis has shown us that so many of us want to act like citizens.

23 March 2020

It's not just the UK Government that was slow to respond to COVID-19. I arrived in Spain on the day the Spanish Government closed all its…

1 February 2020

The results of the 2019 election are even worse than they appear. Despite austerity, welfare reform, Brexit and climate change, we have…

1 July 2019

Ten years ago I created a think tank called the Centre for Welfare Reform, based here in Sheffield. It still seems like a crazy idea.…

2 March 2019

Ahead of 'Basic Income: How Do We Get There?' next Saturday at the University of Sheffield, Simon Duffy from the Centre for Welfare Reform…

Simon Duffy

Citizens’ assemblies and deliberative democracy: An open letter

It’s Our Community: A New Vision for Social Care

Stainless Steel Democracy: The case for moving power to neighbourhoods

Lies about Country: The lies we're told and the lies we tell ourselves

COVID-19: Why such a slow response from the Government?

What's Left?: If the game is fixed, change the rules

Centre for Welfare Reform: On Being a Think Tank in the North

Universal Basic Income: The moral argument