Progressive Activists

Sam

Sam lives in Cardiff where he works at the university, sharing a house with other junior academics. Sam’s idealism often clashes with the compromises of daily life; he abandoned vegetarianism after years of trying, frustrated that individual lifestyle changes feel meaningless against the scale of global problems that keep him awake at night.

And while he tries to keep his flying down, this year he has had to fly twice – to an academic conference and for a personal holiday.

Lately, the war in Gaza has consumed much of his emotional energy. He finds himself scrolling through footage and testimonials that leave him feeling both helpless and outraged that Britain is not doing more.

Sam voted Labour in the last election with hope that felt misplaced within weeks, watching Starmer’s Government make decisions that felt like betrayals of things he thought they stood for. Now he channels his disillusionment into sharing content on social media and attending local Extinction Rebellion meetings, finding more authentic politics in grassroots movements than in Westminster.

Sam oscillates between moments of genuine optimism—when he sees students organising or communities coming together—and periods of despair about whether any of it makes a difference in a world that seems to be burning while politicians offer platitudes.

Sam starts each morning reading his Guardian notifications, and then listens to yesterday’s The News Agents or Pod Save America during his cycle to work, and finds himself deep in Bluesky threads late into the evening. He has had to delete news apps twice this year when the constant stream of crises left him unable to sleep, only to reinstall them days later, feeling a responsibility to keep himself informed.

Sam’s conversations with his housemates often stretch into the night, ranging from university politics to climate tipping points to the latest government betrayal. While he enjoys these exchanges with like-minded people, he sometimes envies friends who can watch Netflix without feeling guilty about switching off from the world’s problems.

He has also lost some friends from home over disagreements about politics. His parents worry about his intensity, suggesting he is “too invested” in politics, advice that strikes him as emblematic of the generational divide that allows injustice to persist unchallenged.