Following our Disabled Women in Politics event we wrote to Minister for Disability, Stephen Timms MP. See below for the text of the letter:
Dear Minister
The Government’s ongoing commitment to seeing greater representation for disabled people in public life is welcome, specifically the Access to Elected Office Steering Group looking at funding for disabled candidates, on which our Steering Group member Dr Sarabjajya Kumar serves. Centenary Action is keen to continue to work closely with you and your department on further strengthening representation, particularly for disabled women whose voices remain underrepresented in our political system.
Recently, we brought together disabled women MPs, peers, councillors, activists, campaigners and academics for our event Disabled Women in Politics: Breaking Down Barriers to Representation. It was a powerful discussion about the changes needed that would allow disabled women to participate more fully and equally in political life. We were grateful that a member of your department was able to attend and hear first-hand the experiences shared.
Drawing on the ideas and insights of the attendees , we are pleased to share a set of key recommendations:
- Reinstate the Access to Elected Office Fund to cover essential disability-related costs for candidates.
- Ensure that parliamentary systems are inclusive and enable disabled MPs to participate equally. For example replacing traditions such as ‘bobbing’ with accessible speaking systems, building breaks into debates, providing more opportunities for remote participation and better use of technological solutions.
- Buildings used for democratic participation need to be accessible including the Parliamentary estate and council buildings.
Strengthen and enforce accessibility standards within political parties, ensuring compliance with their anticipatory duties under the Equality Act. This should include accessible meetings, membership materials, selection and recruitment processes, campaigning activities, party conferences and internal procedures. Reasonable adjustments should also be made for disabled members and prospective candidates. Consider following the example of the Welsh government and introducing Diversity and inclusion guidance for political parties with a focus on disability inclusion. - Strengthen protections against abuse and harassment recognising the intersectional forms of abuse that disabled women may experience from the public and within political parties. This should include implementing the Jo Cox Civility recommendations in full and ensuring that Parliament takes an institutional approach to addressing violence against women in politics. Political parties should be encouraged to have robust codes of conduct which they consistently enforce.
- Enforce respectful conduct and boundaries with proactive equalities training for staff and elected representatives, including on appropriate behaviour around mobility aids and promoting a culture of “disagreeing agreeably”.
- Centralise disability-related data collection so that a single, credible parliamentary body gathers and publishes consistent, accurate, cross-party data.
- Raise awareness of all disabilities, including hidden disabilities, and ensure they are considered when making accessibility arrangements.
- Ensure voting is accessible for all disabled people with accessible registration, timely easy-read materials, and support for disabled people, including those with learning disabilities to navigate the process and reach polling stations.
Further recommendations for systemic reform can be found in our recent report, Breaking down barriers: Empowering disabled women in politics – Centenary Action.
We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss these issues further. We would be delighted to bring disabled women involved in politics to Parliament to share their experiences directly with you – we believe hearing from the women themselves would allow you to hear first hand what they are experiencing and their ideas would significantly support the work of your department.
Best wishes
Helen
Helen Pankhurst CBE
Centenary Action Convener