The letterhead is something that only matters in the US. Really don't worry. I've just been on a hiring committee and to be honest in my subject at least there are too many applications to bother about anything that petty (150 for a lectureship). Those advising you that having the PhD in hand will help are correct. We didn't interview anyone without that.
Most people get corrections of some sort, so there's probably a while before you lose email / library rights but you might want to ask your supervisor if there's any way you could hold a visiting / honorary unpaid fellowship or research centre membership to keep access to journals / library resources. We tend to offer that to recent PhDs without jobs for a year at least so they can keep publishing. That also keeps your affiliation going. I have yet to meet a historian who got a permanent job without several years of short-term research contracts or hourly paid teaching first usually with patches of temping inbetween (they seemed to think it was publishing their first book that made the difference in their competitiveness). Everyone knows the market is dire, so treeoflife is quite right to say that no-one will judge you for employment gaps / other work so long as your cv is improving.

Or yes au pair / other job plus German classes at your local Volkshochschule. The classes aren't free but very reasonably priced. Studenkollegs do give you subject specific vocab though so may be better.

You need the cheap /free state-run not the private Studienkollegs - list here: http://www.studienkollegs.de/Studienkollegs.html

There are good reasons for aiming high. The quality of review is often higher (as reviewers are much more likely to do a thorough job when it's for a journal that is desirable for them too) and then having a publication in a high impact factor journal is useful for career purposes. If your article is so far off the expected norm then it's likely to be a desk reject, which at least is quick, and you never know, you might stand a chance, so my inclination would be to follow her advice.
If though you deal with rejection badly and a desk reject would throw you off course, then what about making the objective case that you suggest about why not that journal, but ask her where else she would suggest. Her dismissal of your preferred journal sounds to be rooted in a reasonable enough feeling around falling quality, so I'd take that message seriously. There's a good chance she knows something you don't. Perhaps a third journal might be the compromise here?

I think the Oxbridge JRFs are rather a closed shop for everyone who didn't do their PhD at Oxbridge or one of the very few universities globally they consider their equal... Not very meritocratic. Other jobs (RG included) I think for education and sociology (assuming one of the other is your subject) there's not a lot of snobbishness about what institution you did your PhD at as for both subjects there are really strong researchers at lower ranked institutions. (I do think it seems to matter more in eg History, philosophy or English Lit). Getting a job is more about what you have achieved in terms of publication etc. So what matters more in your assessment of Edge Hill than the ranking, is whether the supervisors of the project are publishing in the highly ranked journals, you need to target to be competitive for jobs. If they are, then they will almost certainly be able to give you the professional skills training you need to stand a decent chance.
I think the only other real concern (more for sociology than education) is research methods training. Depending on how much you've already had, this may be less of a worry, but you might want to check a) what Edge Hill offers and b) if they have any connections to ESRC Northwest DTC to help you access any specialist training you need. Unfortunately social sciences are so method heavy these days that not having strong methods skills makes it hard to get into the better journals, and this can be disadvantageous career-wise.

I think the others are right - an MD unless you've also spent multiple years in a lab doing original research is not the right preparation for a postdoc. Why not try for the clinical positions you have the experience for?

Try the post-92s in your area - they have fewer PhD students so casual teaching staff are needed more. We get c. 30 requests per year (RG social sciences) - can't hire them all but they get kept on file for emergencies.

It's on the transcript so very obvious I'm afraid. If you do go this route OP, make sure it's from a business school with external accreditation - EQUIS / AMBA etc.

PVC is prob needed to sort out the finance people. But your sup could do it as a 'sort this out or expect a formal complaint' warning, whereas you'd have to start the complaint procedure.it gives you an extra option.

Would your supervisor complain on your behalf? If s/he could hint that you are about to make a formal complaint, then the problem might be made to disappear informally in preference.

Not great preparation tbh & sends a signal that you like to cut corners. If you are likely to be competitive for a funded PhD in Business, why not go after Masters scholarships instead and do the thing properly?

The blog is spot-on. Be aware though that you are unlikely to pick up enough teaching to survive financially this way but what they suggest is normal behavior.

Kerry - the general advice for arts and social sciences students is, unless you really are rolling in it, then you should apply for PhD funding (especially as with a 1st you might well be a good candidate). There are so few academic jobs available that going down that route is likely to mean years of piecing together part-time / temporary work, so it's good to leave your savings for then. There may even be partial scholarships for the MA - definitely worth looking around a bit.
Things you might want to consider with a future funding application in mind:
- consider where possible PhD supervisors might be based when making your MA applications. It is so much easier to put together a competitive PhD funding application to the AHRC (the funder for history) if you are already at an institution with a viable supervisory team. (A percentage of the score is for supervisory 'fit').
- Specialised research training availability might also matter - e.g. will you need particular language skills to make the archival work viable - if so can the institutions you're looking at provide that perhaps during the MA?
- And do check that the institution can sponsor an AHRC history bid - there are some surprising omissions in the South East.
- When you start the MA make an appointment to see the person running the PhD programme - the more information you can get early about applications and funding the better.

Is there any way you could request an honorary visiting research fellow position at your doctoral institution? Here at least that gets you the computer access codes for our e-journals. It might be worth asking your former supervisor if there's any chance of something like that - especially if there's any way your current job could be 'useful' for any of the department's staff / students.
Otherwise join Researchgate / academia.edu / SSRN or whatever depository is most used in your field. Often even if a paper is behind a paywall, the researcher will be willing to share with independent scholars so cheeky emails are always worth a shot. Searching via google scholar and checking all the versions available sometimes also leads you to a free pdf version perhaps through an institutional depository. My other suggestion is to sign up for new content alerts for the most important journals to you - the emails are a nuisance but if you set them to go to a secondary email address manageable. The reason I suggest that is that for some publishers eg Taylor and Francis, the first 50 downloads are free, so if you get in quick download and save, you just have a storage / filing issue. I think as more countries start encouraging at least green open access, the situation is getting easier.
For books, alongside checking any nearby HE institutions for their associate membership fees, it might be worth checking whether your local public library participates in inter-library loans at a reasonable fee. Some do.

Wow that's really surprising to hear! My RG employer is going in the opposite direction and panicking about anyone teaching without both a PhD and a HE teaching qualification / HEA fellowship. Even our hourly paid staff (i.e. basically our PhD students) have to have completed the first module of the teaching qualification in order to run stage 1 seminars. We've been told this is because the TEF is likely to penalise institutions with noticeable numbers of 'unqualified' staff (apparently something the students and their parents have been complaining about to the government), so they are upping the incentives for older staff to get HEA fellowships (for anyone appointed in the last 15 years passing a teaching qualification was essential to get through probation). The PhD expectation has been around ever since they started badging our 'undergraduate offer' as featuring research-led teaching.
I had assumed the TEF effect was universal, and this is why I questioned your claim about lower ranked universities, because the lower ranked ones in this region are properly advertising jobs these days (they never used to do that - recruitment was very much 'who you knew') and saying PhD plus preferably HE teaching qualification as essential qualities. I've also heard that existing staff are being put under pressure to register for a PhD or lose their jobs.