For far too long, Disabled people have been treated as second-class citizens. Disabled people make up at least 15% of the UK population. But we are not a homogenous group: we have different impairments, are different genders and sexual orientations, come from different backgrounds, and live different lives. We all want the right support when we need it, it’s not a luxury but a basic human right.Right now, successive policy 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 right under the Equality Act to make reasonable adjustments – adaptations that give us equity of access to services, employment and both the built and natural environment, along with accessible information, transport, and leisure facilities.
At a gathering that will be addressed by the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, the Disabled People’s Manifesto sets out the transformational programme of action that we want the next government to implement.
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.
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.”
Mark Harrison, Reclaiming Our Futures Alliance Steering Group, 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.”
To find out more about the Manifesto, visit the Disabled People's Manifesto website. Sign up on the Action Network to suport, and sign the 38 Degrees Petition on this website.