I do control the direction of my thesis. So, that's not a problem.

The lec. responsible for the funding fiasco just doesn't seem a nice person generally. He told one of my friends that her PhD topic would make her unemployable. It's a constant stream of unprofessional comments, but he is quite highly regarded in the dept., so complaining would make life unecessarily difficult.

It appears to me that academic staff are totally unaccountable for their actions and can pretty much be as eccentric, unhelpful and perculiar as they like. But if your supervisor and project are OK then all should be well.

Thanks again. I suppose with a PhD being, in general, more isolating than previous work, any issue becomes magnified.

I can deal with the funding situation, as I'm fortunate to be able to self-fund. It is less about that, and more about feeling valued, and academically capable, which at times, is anything but the case. We all deal with that to an extent.

I will look at other options though. Def. want to do this project, I just can't deal with the internal biases and pettiness.

Error404, you might very well encounter internal biases and pettiness wherever you go. they are obviously not very visible immediately but that doesn't mean they aren't there.

however, you having been at the same place for all your university life might make some issues more accenuated. perhaps a new place would let you start afresh, instead of lugging along the whole baggage from how people have known you for the past 5 years.
but then, at a new place, people might have biases based simply on where you are from, what you look like, the first impression you make on them, rather than from their experience of you in the last x years. both sorts of biases are problematic.
and going to a new place has other costs, benefits and disadvantages that you'd need to take into account.

Hi Error. I've applied to the AHRC three times and been rejected every time. I spent ages feeling really depressed about it, and couldn't understand because I received distinctions for both my undergrad and MA degrees, and I also submitted a very strong proposal for my PhD project. Now, after having spoken with quite a few academics about the intricacies of AHRC politics I realise that it's a ruthless competition where, comparatively, very few are successful. I don't know if that's any help. I guess what I'm wanting to say is, if you don't get accepted for AHRC funding, it's not a reflection of your talents/abilities.