On Thursday 18th July ACR members and members of Act4Inclusion will be taking part in DPAC organised actions. The major event will be in London, Parliament Square between 1 pm and 3 pm. There will also be ACR/A4I support at a Leeds event (outside WH Smith’s, Lands Lane LS1 6AW, and further events in Liverpool and Salford (12.30 – 2.30 pm outside Salford City Post Office, Rossall Way, Salford M6 5DS. The events, coming a day after the Kings Speech are designed to highlight and make people aware of the need for the incoming Labour Government to take a more positive approach to meeting the needs of disabled people.

History

Despite the fact that people identifying themselves as disabled are listed in Census data as an average of 20% of the population, with a further 13% listed as unpaid carers, there has been little sign that there will be real support for disabled people from the incoming Labour government. The lack of support is something disabled Labour Party members have experienced in recent years: concerns not dealt with at national and often local level, despite efforts of disability officers; the publication of advice on how the party might meet its responsibilities under the Equality Act by a group of activists working with a specialist lawyer ignored; concerns of excellent disabled members rep, Ellen Morrison, not addressed; apparent changes to rules were later dropped or paused; and promises made to Disability Labour to improve things not followed up.

Against this backdrop, the Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) Conference in September launched a manifesto for disabled people in an atmosphere of optimism about what DPOs would be able to get the party to do. There was little disagreement about what it included, but for some of us, we were left feeling there was a need for a more political approach towards campaigning for change. Campaigning for change must include the raft of issues contained within the manifesto, however, the crisis within Social Care and tackling the neglect of developing Independent Living, need to be urgent priorities.

Sunak’s attacks and DPOs responses

Sunak’s “fit note” speech in April shocked many, fearful of the outcome if such measures were enacted. An emergency meeting organised at short notice by DPAC led to widespread support for a national campaign strong enough to publicise the dangers. A number of working groups were formed to focus on specific actions.

The Labour Party and the election period

Disability Labour executive passed a motion requiring the party to:

• Create a fair alternative to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA);
• Work co-productively with disabled people to design a benefits system that works for all;
• Reform the DWP;
• Engage with trades unions to ensure employers met their responsibilities under the Equality Act.

According to disabled members of Labour National Policy Forum these were things agreed to at a conference held to discuss what would go into the election manifesto. At a hustings organised by the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People, Vicky Foxcroft (Shadow Disability Minister in previous Parliament) referred to these and a series of other measures to improve the lives of disabled people.

As a consequence, the election result brought hope to many.  However many of us, including DPAC nationally, remained sceptical. DPAC had resolved to ensure continuing the campaign in order to hold Labour to the promises people considered that had made. Plans for a July event continued for the 18th – a good date as it would follow the Kings Speech the day before.

Where we are now

Campaigners have eagerly awaited the appointment of a new Disability Minister.

It seemed like a long wait. Two part time Equality Ministers have been appointed, both with responsibilities for Equality tagged onto other substantial jobs – Bridget Phillipson as Education Secretary; Annaliese Dodds in the Foreign and Commonwealth office. Equality minister is described as covering women, race and LGBT issues – no mention of disability. Both posts are attached to the Education Department.

More recently, Stephen Timms has been appointed as Minister for Benefits and Disability. In Liz Kendall’s Work and Pension department. For many of us this is a cause of grave concern  because he was one of the architects of the Work Capability Assessment, which has already caused so much damage to so many people. It is clear where his focus will be.

As for Vicky Foxcroft, she has been demoted and is now a whip which effectively silences her.  Initially, given her background in working with charities, we expected little of her. Meetings she called to find out more revealed a lack of knowledge about disability – but she listened. She was learning, and was sometimes willing to stick her neck out. 

So her loss matters, as does the dramatic and offensive change in the nature of what is required of a Disability Minister. The only official statement on disabled people so far has been Liz Kendall’s comments on the need to get disabled people back to work in terms that replicate the all-too-familiar scrounger rhetoric.

It is a myth that disabled people are work shy. Many who claim benefits also work. Many more would like to work but find that employers are reluctant to employ disabled people or unwilling to organise the “reasonable adjustments” they need and are legally entitled to.  Employers are allowed to argue their way out of providing reasonable adjustments or find other reasons not to employ disabled people. Moreover, workers are treated as a cost by employers. To make reasonable adjustments costs employers money and they are reticent to do this given that hiring non-impaired workers is so cheap. The Equality Act is too easy for employers to wriggle their way out of following and needs reform: Labour shows no sign of doing that.

In addition there are disabled people whose only option is to rely on benefits. This includes the younger people with mental health issues Sunak pointed to, ignoring the fact that mental health provision has become extremely difficult to access, and even when it is accessed it may be in a form not useful for many people. Somewhere around two million people have been affected by Long Covid and this is continuing with little being done to prevent more people being affected or to support those already ill. Energy impairment is often invisible and not well understood. There are also many cases of employers enacting conditions that do not allow people to be ill and penalise them or threaten sanctions if they are.

The current situation

Many disabled people are living in dangerous times. We have already seen thousands of people die as a result of being sanctioned by the DWP.

Already many disabled people are struggling to survive – being disabled is for many people expensive. Energy costs, maintenance and charging of specialist equipment, finding appropriate accommodation, even buying special kinds of food, care contributions – many many other things play their part. We need to see what’s happening as an emergency, not a minor threat.

It will need much tougher campaigning, building of alliances, greater political awareness, more effective education and much besides in order to even begin to bring about change.

But we can at least make a start. As Bob Williams Findlay states more eloquently than I can:

“Solidarity isn’t based on 100% agreement, whether or not you like who you’re standing with; it’s about understanding the need to be there”

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