Dedicated to #SaveWILG campaigners everywhere.

To be fair to new First Minister Mark Drakeford, he is listening and making positive changes in the right direction. Solidarity to him and we look forward to working with the new look Welsh Labour in our quest to #SaveWILG.

The following song is about Apartheid in South Africa. Although I am not, in any way, trying to disrespect this, I do feel that this song has excellent lyrics that can also apply to the plight that disabled people find themselves in 21st Century Britain. I just feel it is a good rallying call to the 1,300 WILG recipients in the calamitous countdown to the end of the Welsh Independent Living Grant.

Things may look bleak at the moment, but the campaign is still going strong and we have some crucial irons with which to stoke the fire in the weeks ahead. Do not lose hope as things are certainly happening behind the scenes.

Please do not hesitate to contact me via the contact page above, or via Facebook or Twitter if you feel you can add to the campaign or would just like to find out more information.

According to Wikipedia, “(Something Inside) So Strong” is a 1987 single written and recorded by British singer-songwriter Labi Siffre. The song was one of the biggest successes of his career, and peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart.^[1]

The song was written in 1984, inspired by a television documentary on Apartheid South Africa seen by Siffre in which white soldiers were filmed shooting at black civilians in the street.^[2] He told the BBC’s Soul Music programme in 2014 that the song was also influenced by his experience as a homosexual child, adolescent, and adult and his inner Chi.^[3] Siffre originally intended to give the song to another artist to sing, but could find no one suitable and was convinced to release it himself.^[2]

The song has remained enduringly popular and is an example of the political and sociological thread running through much of Siffre’s lyrics and poetry. It won the Ivor Novello Award for “Best Song Musically and Lyrically”, and has been used in Amnesty International campaigns, a television advertisement and Alice Walker‘s film against female genital mutilation: Warrior Marks.

The song has been covered by many artists, including country singer Kenny Rogers who featured it on his 1989 best selling album of the same name, and also by Pop Idol contestant Rik Waller who reached #25 in the UK Single Charts with it in 2002.

The song was featured in an advertisement for the Peugeot 307 in 2001.

“(Something Inside) So Strong”