Ruth Patrick

I'm a lecturer at the University of York, commuting from the nearby (and brilliant) Bradford. I live with my partner and our four young children. During lockdown, I frequently questioned our decision to have quite such a large family, though it was also lovely to see the four of them play together (less so all the fighting). My children set up their own pretend school in our local woods, and the daily excursions up there really helped us all get through the endless lockdowns.

On this project, I'm responsible for making sure we do what we originally set out to do, and am also taking a key role in our efforts to walk alongside those directly affected by the two-child limit and benefit cap (through repeat interviews with parents in Bradford and London). I'm less confident with the numbers side of the project, but am excited to see us build an evidence base that tells us both about people's experiences of these policies but also how these map onto larger trends of their national impact. I really hope that through the project we generate more understanding of the impact these two policies have, and that the parents and carers who speak to us for the study enjoy their involvement, and feel that their voices are properly heard.