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Isabella McRae
Isabella McRae is associate editor at the Big Issue. She has extensive experience reporting on a wide range of issues across social affairs and culture. Isabella was awarded Best News Story at the Anti-Slavery Day Awards in 2025. She was also a winner of the PPA Next Gen Awards in 2023, formerly known as the 30 under 30, and was shortlisted for journalist of the year in the Scope Disability Awards 2024. Get in touch with Isabella through isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com
'Everyone wants a job and it's a nightmare': What it's like to be a NEET young person in Britain
wren hill
Youth unemployment

'Everyone wants a job and it's a nightmare': What it's like to be a NEET young person in Britain

Hip hop star Loyle Carner is cooking up solutions for young people with ADHD at Chilli Con Carner
Loyle Carner with people from his cooking school Chilli Con Carner
Neurodiversity

Hip hop star Loyle Carner is cooking up solutions for young people with ADHD at Chilli Con Carner

More children will get free school meals from September 2026. Here's what you need to know
child eating meal at school
Free school meals

More children will get free school meals from September 2026. Here's what you need to know

31 places where kids can eat for free or £1 over the summer holiday
kids eat free/ easter holidays
Kids eat free

31 places where kids can eat for free or £1 over the summer holiday

Why do people live 14 years longer at one end of Leeds' famous Otley Run pub crawl than the other?
people on the Otley Run in Leeds
Health inequality

Why do people live 14 years longer at one end of Leeds' famous Otley Run pub crawl than the other?

Dame Elaine Paige: 'The pandemic awakened me to the idea that I was on a treadmill with my work'
Dame Elaine Paige
Letter To My Younger Self

Dame Elaine Paige: 'The pandemic awakened me to the idea that I was on a treadmill with my work'

What are Andy Burnham's cost of living plans and what will they mean for you?
Andy Burnham as he arrived at 10 Downing Street.
Cost of living

What are Andy Burnham's cost of living plans and what will they mean for you?

'At your sick child's bedside, the last thing you need is to not feel supported financially'
Michael Duffy, who is now a healthy five-year-old but had an aggressive form of childhood cancer.
Employment rights

'At your sick child's bedside, the last thing you need is to not feel supported financially'

I was tipped to play football for England until my mum got sick. Street football gave me hope again
Kego at a street football tournament with The Last Stand.
Football

I was tipped to play football for England until my mum got sick. Street football gave me hope again

PIP assessment process is 'dehumanising' and 'degrading', government's Timms Review finds
stephen timms
Disability benefits

PIP assessment process is 'dehumanising' and 'degrading', government's Timms Review finds

Alex never thought he would need benefits – then he lost his job and needed universal credit to survive
A man and a child play with an orange football on a beach, with houses in the background.
Advertorial

Alex never thought he would need benefits – then he lost his job and needed universal credit to survive

Energy bills are rising. What do I do if I can't afford to pay?
energy bills
Cost of living

Energy bills are rising. What do I do if I can't afford to pay?