A new type of political activism

The Personal is now Political.

The UK General Election campaign will end on Thursday night. By Friday lunchtime we will know which party has been elected to government. But this campaign has been different. Social media has been used far more than it was two years ago. But there has also been another type of activism.

Disabled people thought the UK has become political activists under the tag of #cripthevoteUK.

Cripthevote started in the US. Now it has been launched in the UK.

Started by some campaigners from DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts), it has its own blog, and is on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

DPAC has organised or been involved in all the Direct Action protests against Austerity Cuts in the UK since 2010. That is why its activists are turning their focus on the election. Austerity, implemented by the current Conservative government has hit disabled and vulnerable people the hardest.

Both the United Nations and the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission, have condemned the UK government for many abuses against disabled people. Most of these relate to the way people who are claiming benefits are being treated. As a result of the phasing out of Disability Living Allowance and the introduction of Personal Independence Payments over 35,000 people will have had their mobility cars taken away. The mobility requirement for how far someone can walk without pain or stopping to rest has been reduced from 50 meters to 20 meters for PIP claimants. Much of the assessment process has been criticised for not reporting accurately on people’s conditions. Also there is an acute lack of awareness and understanding on the part of assessors.

Some disabled people do challenge these decisions. About 66% get their decision overturned. But this can take months and those who most need their independence are denied it during the appeal process. This also restricts the ability of claimants to get access to advice and advocacy services.

At least 10,000 disabled people have died in the last 7 years (since 2010) within 6 weeks of being declared ‘Fit For Work’. The government has ignored warnings from its own research about the impact of their regime. The next Labour Government has pledged to scrap these cruel tests. The stark reality of the film I, Daniel Blake, portrays the lives of disabled people and their families. It shows the way in which decisions by DWP staff have massive impacts on people’s lives.

So what do the different political parties offer disabled people? The Tory Party appears to have had some difficulties within its own structures. There are two Conservative Disability Group websites. One actually directs people to go to the Labour Party site and Graeme Ellis the group leader has gone further and joined the Labour Party, because of what he describes as – the Tory party being “out to destroy disabled lives”. He goes on to say; “This website “will be used to get an anti tory disability message out there”. The other site is clearly part of mainstream party activity.

Despite repeated requests, the Tory manifesto is only available in PDF format. Making it inaccessible for many disabled people.

It has nothing new to offer disabled people. Theresa May has failed to give any assurances about not introducing further cuts.

The Green Party Manifesto is available in a variety of formats. These include; easy read, Braille, audio and British Sign Language. However, it is light on content. It talks about social care community support without any explanation of what this would involve. The Greens do pledge to abolish the Work Capability Assessments. They also want to use General Practitioners as part of any replacement system.

The Liberal Democrats have not produced a separate disability manifesto, as they did in 2015. Its main manifesto is available in a full selection of accessible formats. They also want to scrap the Work Capability Assessments, but seem to want to replace it with a scheme run by Local Authorities. This will not find favour with disabled people, many of whom have already had their care hours reduced or cut.

UKIP, like the Tories, only have their manifesto in PDF format. They talk of reforming the work capability assessment and ‘end the injustice of personal independence payments’. However, no details are given about how they will do this. There is mention of ‘consultation with disability charities’. I would imagine there are few charities who would feel comfortable about being involved with UKIP.

The Labour Party main manifesto and its mini Disability manifesto are both available in a variety of accessible formats. These include Braille, easy read, audio, and British Sign Language. The Labour Party mini manifesto is unique. Its policies come from the Disability Equality Roadshows. These were run by the Shadow DWP team, who facilitated discussions on current disability issues. There was also a further opportunity for disabled people to contribute by way of Policy Forums and by sending in comments and ideas directly.

Labour is also the party that promises most for disabled people. They commit themselves to the social model of disability, the only Party to do so. They have used the tag line; Nothing About You, Without You. This signifies their pledge of inclusion and the continued involvement of disabled people in policy development.

Labour promises extra funding for the NHS. This will help those disabled people whose conditions are worsening due to increased waiting lists. The Work Capability Assessments and PIP assessments will be scrapped. Labour will also protect those with long terms conditions from needless repeated medicals and re-assessments. There are many other pro-active and inclusive policies, which make Labour the obvious choice for many disabled people.

But whatever the result, disabled people will remain activists. They will continue to speak out on issues that affect the 20% of UK citizens with a disability.

The activists from #cripthevoteUK have a stark message. One of its team members, Dennis Queen, told me; “Disabled people are quite literally voting for our lives. We need ALL voters to know this is an emergency for thousands of disabled people and help us fight back.”