Policymaking for disabled people in the UK has been so dire for so long (Picture: Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images)
As a disability rights campaigner, I know first-hand the hurdles our political system places in the way of aspiring disabled politicians.
I’ve heard cases of meetings held in inaccessible venues and too many stories of discrimination from within political parties.
We’ve even heard from a candidate as part of a research project who was a wheelchair user and, despite their experience and ambition, had to withdraw their candidacy because they literally weren’t able to get around Parliament.
New research published today by the Disability Policy Centre shows only nine MPs with disabilities or long-term health conditions are predicted to get elected at the General Election.
This includes five Labour MPs, two Liberal Democrats, one from the Scottish National Party and one Conservative.
For context – that’s just over 1% of all 650 MPs.
When nearly one in four (24%) of the UK general public has a disability, this is laughable.
It’s even more of a joke that it’s actually a drop from 14 MPs in the latest Parliament.
Research from the Disability Policy Centre (Picture: Disability Policy Centre)
It means a significant chunk of the population facing some of the most challenging, day-to-day problems has next to no representation from those entrusted to improve life for disabled people and society as a whole.
This helps explain why policymaking for disabled people in the UK has been so dire for so long.
It explains why disabled people face an additional cost of living burden of nearly £1,000 a month.
It also explains why specific, costed detail on social care and welfare reform was conspicuously absent from some of the larger parties’ manifestos.
And it might explain why disabled people continue to be an afterthought on accessible housing, travel and leisure.
In short: How can you expect our system to design fair and effective policies for disabled people when there’s next to no lived experience in Parliament?
The problem runs deep in our electoral process, too.
The Government Equalities Office lists financial constraints, inaccessible transport and ‘negative attitudes about their ability’ as some of the concerns disabled candidates face.
Marsha De Cordova has fought to close the disability employment gap (Picture: Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images for LTA)
Our own previous research found 82% of interviewees who were disabled and part of a political party felt they’d faced discrimination from their own party.
Some disabled candidates also face additional costs for things like British Sign Language interpreters and accessible technology.
This is, of course, not to say that not being disabled prevents you from making policies to help disabled people – but it certainly gives policymakers more insight.
The range of challenges disabled people face in the UK in 2024 is vast and ever-evolving, and as with so many groups in society, having real lived experience makes a big difference.
For example, when designing policies, it would help if politicians catered for those with multiple disabilities and understood that disability is a cross-cutting, non-partisan issue.
Disabled people cannot be pigeon-holed, or thought of as a homogenous group.
The 2024 General Election – Metro style
Not sure what to make of the General Election? We got you.
In your inbox
Follow the battle for No 10 with our free weekly newsletter, bringing you easy-to-read breakdowns and straightforward analysis.
What really matters to you
We focus on the issues that our readers care about. Explore parties’ policies on immigration, tax, childcare, LGBTQ+ rights, housing and the climate crisis.
On mobile
Join us on WhatsApp for a daily selection of news and opinion as the election madness gets underway. And don’t forget to turn notifications on!
On TikTok
Fact-checking? Yes. Voters’ opinions? Yes. Dogs at polling stations? Also yes. Follow us on TikTok.
Importantly, having people with disabilities in positions of authority also helps shift public awareness to break damaging stereotypes which keep disabled people marginalised from the national discourse.
Take Rob Halfon – long-serving MP for Harlow who’s retiring this year – who overcame barriers to inaccessible campaigning and was rightly crowned ‘Minister of the Year’ this year.
Or Marsha De Cordova, Shadow Minister for Disabled People, who benefited from the Access to Elected Office Fund and has fought to close the disability employment gap.
Rob and Marsha are shining examples of the value of lived experience of disability in our politics.
The scale of the problem might appear vast, however, but the solutions are remarkably clear.
For a start, disabled people need to be able to get around Parliament.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk.
Share your views in the comments below.