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Melissa Todd - thanetextra@thekmgroup.co.uk

‘Increasingly it seems acceptable, almost cool, to hold right-wing views’

‘Increasingly it seems acceptable, almost cool, to hold right-wing views’

15 November 2024

The mood was sombre as Melissa Todd arrived in the US on the day Trump won the election. Here, she speaks to voters about their fears for the future.

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‘Calls for prostitution to be criminalised are based on lazy and outdated stereotypes’

‘Calls for prostitution to be criminalised are based on lazy and outdated stereotypes’

18 October 2024

Prostitutes are often depicted as drug-addicted streetwalkers, but writer and sex worker Melissa Todd argues these stereotypes are outdated and lazy.

3
'Conditions are better now than our grandparents' day - so why is mental health so much worse?'

'Conditions are better now than our grandparents' day - so why is mental health so much worse?'

04 October 2024

Have we lost our collective sense of purpose? After struggling to comfort a suicidal friend, Melissa Todd explores the modern mental health crisis.

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'Why are we paying £50k a year to imprison criminals? Bring back corporal punishment'

'Why are we paying £50k a year to imprison criminals? Bring back corporal punishment'

20 September 2024

As prison overcrowding reaches crisis point, Melissa Todd explores the alternatives - including the “short, sharp shock” of a corporal punishment.

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'Every child deserves a decent education - yes, even the poor ones'

'Every child deserves a decent education - yes, even the poor ones'

06 September 2024

If it were up to columnist Melissa Todd, private schools would be abolished and children - both rich and poor - allocated places by a lottery system.

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‘Issuing fines for swearing is class war - our words root us to our communities’

‘Issuing fines for swearing is class war - our words root us to our communities’

23 August 2024

KentOnline columnist and swearing fan Melissa Todd says a council’s plan to issue fines for foul language will unfairly penalise the working class.

11
‘Why rioters are as much deserving of pity as their cowering targets - perhaps more’

‘Why rioters are as much deserving of pity as their cowering targets - perhaps more’

09 August 2024

After violence on the streets, Melissa Todd calls for empathy from all sides, arguing we’re all immigrants, we’re all frightened and we’re all flawed.

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‘What next for decimated Tories? The party has ridden out worse crises than this’

‘What next for decimated Tories? The party has ridden out worse crises than this’

26 July 2024

With the Conservative Party now a shadow of its former self, Melissa Todd explores its previous peaks and troughs - and what the future could hold…

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‘With the Conservatives decimated, the far-right are ready to rush into the void’

‘With the Conservatives decimated, the far-right are ready to rush into the void’

12 July 2024

After the Conservatives’ bruising defeat, Melissa Todd outlines her hopes for the new government - and what the rise of Reform could mean in future.

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'If I were elected, I'd decriminalise drugs and sex work, banish borders and scrap school'

'If I were elected, I'd decriminalise drugs and sex work, banish borders and scrap school'

14 June 2024

After toying with the idea of standing for election, columnist Melissa Todd has revealed her hypothetical manifesto pledges…

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Meet the man helping the suicidal find hope - one driving lesson at a time

Meet the man helping the suicidal find hope - one driving lesson at a time

07 June 2024

This week, Melissa Todd meets the man behind a Kent driving school with a difference, helping the disadvantaged and suicidal find hope for the future.

4
‘Denying children sex education doesn’t leave them innocent - it leaves them vulnerable’

‘Denying children sex education doesn’t leave them innocent - it leaves them vulnerable’

31 May 2024

Rather than banning sex education, Melissa Todd argues our children need a great deal more of it - and says we cannot rely on families to teach it.

12
'Landlords can end your life on the most petty grounds - tenants have no power'

'Landlords can end your life on the most petty grounds - tenants have no power'

24 May 2024

Columnist Melissa Todd explores the potentially devastating impact of ‘no-fault evictions’ which can leave tenants homeless with little warning.

25
'I don't get the appeal of tourism - it's all crowds, traffic and dreadful tea'

'I don't get the appeal of tourism - it's all crowds, traffic and dreadful tea'

17 May 2024

As the weather warms up, columnist Melissa Todd dreads the arrival of hordes of visitors - and questions the appeal of tourism as a whole.

24
‘Airbnbs are pushing local people out – we have a duty not to use them’

‘Airbnbs are pushing local people out – we have a duty not to use them’

12 April 2024

As her friend’s long-term seaside home is turned into an Airbnb, columnist Melissa Todd explores the impact of holiday lets on local communities.

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Mum, 34, in endless pain: 'I'd consider Dignitas but can't afford £15k'

Mum, 34, in endless pain: 'I'd consider Dignitas but can't afford £15k'

29 March 2024

A mum living in agony with severe arthritis has described her struggle to cope - and the measures she would be prepared to take to end her pain.

18
‘Religiously fluid? I always assumed you had to pick a side, like a football fan’

‘Religiously fluid? I always assumed you had to pick a side, like a football fan’

08 March 2024

This week, columnist Melissa Todd explores ‘religious fluidity’ after meeting a Methodist Church worker who converted to Islam.

8
‘It’s exhausting watching someone die – you daren’t look away for fear of missing their final moments’

‘It’s exhausting watching someone die – you daren’t look away for fear of missing their final moments’

23 February 2024

This week, KentOnline columnist Melissa Todd explores love and loss as she keeps a vigil at her dying stepfather’s bedside.

7
‘Meet the volunteers offering flip-flops, lollipops and solace to night-time revellers’

‘Meet the volunteers offering flip-flops, lollipops and solace to night-time revellers’

09 February 2024

From handing out flip-flops to stopping drunk people jumping in the harbour, Melissa Todd goes behind the scenes with night-time community pastors.

15
‘Is yoga racist? Does that mean I can only pursue interests that hail from my hometown?’

‘Is yoga racist? Does that mean I can only pursue interests that hail from my hometown?’

12 January 2024

Is yoga racist, with its ‘skinny, bendy and blonde’ devotees? Regular ‘yogi’ Melissa Todd argues the term cultural appropriation is racist in itself.

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