Disabled People’s Manifesto launched

UK’s Disabled People’s Organisations demand next government takes radical action to end injustice towards Disabled people  

Click to go to the Disabled People’s Manifesto website

Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) from across England gathered in Manchester on 22nd September to demand that the next government takes fundamental and radical action to address the deep-seated inequalities faced by millions of Disabled people. 

For far too long, Disabled people have been treated as second-class citizens. 

Decisions by the government mean our lives are not valued equally.

We face barriers to health care, we are made to pay for social care, we are left for years on social security, we are low paid and we live in unaffordable and inaccessible homes.  

We constantly have to fight for our legal rights under the Equality Act.

We are calling for a long-term plan, co-created with Disabled people, to end the systemic injustices we face.  

Together in our manifesto, we are asking for: 

• Representation and Voice: We want to have a voice and have a say about things that are important to us. Nothing about us without us. 
• Rights: We want to have the same rights as everyone else. 
• Independence: We want the same choice and control as everyone else. 
• Inclusion:  We want to be included in society as equals.
   

Click to go to the Disabled People’s Manifesto website

Take Action page on the Manifesto website

 

Inclusion London, Director of Campaigns and Justice, Svetlana Kotova said: 

“In the past decade our community could not lift our head from the punches coming from punitive welfare policy, devastating cuts to support, scrounger rhetoric and dismantling of our organisations.  Many of us feel our lives were valued less.   

Equal life for us cannot be achieved by applying sticking plaster to already failing system.  We need the next government to be bold and brave and work with us to implement the vision we set out today in our manifesto.” 

Rick Burgess from Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People said: 

‘While national government has subjected disabled people to an intensifying hostile environment, our organisations remain defiant in demanding a better future.  

We meet for the first time in years in Manchester, at the People’s History Museum where the coproduced exhibition of our movements history- Nothing About Us Without Us is based. Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester will be welcoming us as we also celebrate the fifth year of the ground breaking GM Disabled People’s Panel, a partnership between DPO’s and the Mayor.” 

Reclaiming Our Futures Alliance Steering Group member Mark Harrison said: 

“This is a vital conference for Disabled people’s organisations across England to come together to discuss how we can ensure our rights and living standards are high on the political agenda.  The last 13 years has seen unprecedented attacks by Conservative led governments on the hard won gains made towards disability equality over the last 50 years.   

This reversal led the UN disability committee to find that the threshold of ‘grave and systematic’ violations had been met in 2016.  Since then the situation has got worse.  We need the opposition parties to step up and prioritise Disabled people in their manifestos for the coming election.” 

Disability Rights UK, CEO Kamran Mallick said: 

“It may sound like an exaggeration, but it isn’t – for centuries, Disabled people have been ostracised, marginalised, ridiculed and dismissed. We have to create a society where we take our place as equal citizens.  

We need the next Government to step up to the challenge and work with Disabled people to create a society that we can all be proud of and participate in fully.”  

Notes: 

The DPO Forum England is the collective voice of Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations in England. 

We are a diverse and united collective of: 

• Deaf and Disabled people 
• Deaf and Disabled people’s organisations (DDPOs) and 
• Deaf and Disabled people-led groups across the UK. 

Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) are run by and for Disabled people. DPOs differ from other organisation types such as charities in that they are run by and for Disabled people as opposed to being run on behalf of Disabled people. 

Inclusion London mission is to promote Deaf and Disabled people’s equality and inclusion by supporting Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations (DDPOs) and campaigning for rights for Deaf and Disabled people across the UK.  

Inclusion London supports over 70 Deaf and Disabled Organisations working across every London borough. Through these organisations, our reach extends to over 70,000 Disabled Londoners. 

Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People (GMCDP) is a Disabled People’s Organisation, which means it is controlled and run by disabled people only. All Executive Council members and staff positions are only available to disabled people. This is because, as an organisation, we feel it is essential for Disabled people to have our own voice and our own control of our organisation. 

Reclaiming Our Futures Alliance (ROFA) is an alliance of Disabled People and their organisations ’s (DPOs) in England who have joined together to defend disabled people’s rights and campaign for an inclusive society. ROFA fights for equality for disabled people in England and works with sister organisations across the UK in the tradition of the international disability movement. 

Disability Rights UK is the UK’s leading organisation led by, run by, and working for Disabled people.  

We work with Disabled People’s Organisations and Government across the UK to influence regional and national change for better rights, benefits, quality of life and economic opportunities for Disabled people.