Disability and Political Participation | #DisabilityTopicTuesday
I know that politics can be a sensitive topic and the purpose of this post is not to force my personal political views onto you. Rather, I want to draw attention to a topic very close to my heart: political participation.
Whether or not you are particularly interested in politics, voting is a way to make sure that your views are counted. Even if your view is not seen in the end result, it will have contributed.
I wanted to write about this topic as I think it is not discussed often enough, only at times when there is an election approaching. Of course, the US election is coming up, but in a way, that’s a coincidence to me writing this post. As a public policy student I really believe that policy can impact our lives, and that everyday decisions can be political. You might not share that view, and that’s okay. But I think it’s important we recognise that for many people - being given the right to vote and be politically active (a privilege that was fought for and that many don’t have) is an important aspect of social inclusion.
When it comes to disability and politics, I’d say the emphasis on political participation as a way of being included is even clearer. Postal or proxy voting has made it easier for people to vote if they can’t physically get to a polling station for whatever reason, and that’s great. However, as Wafula Strike (2019) notes, disabled people should also be given the chance to attend polling stations if they want to - and too often inaccessibility makes this difficult.
Political participation is about more than being able to vote, though. When researching for this, I read an article which cited government data in stating that around one in five people in the UK are disabled (Wafula Strike, 2019). And yet, as I’ve discussed before on this blog, disabled people are so frequently marginalised and their needs (which can be vastly different) are seen as “unusual”. Given that disabled people make up a considerable amount of the population, it seems right that they are seen and heard in politics. Disability Rights UK reported in 2019 that just 5 Members of Parliament who previously held office and were elected identify as disabled. No one should ever be forced to declare a disability, and it may be that there are more disabled people in Parliament than we know. Based on what we do, however, we can see that the election or presence of disabled people in government is not common.
In the relatively short time I’ve actively tried to engage with the disability community and the news while writing this blog, I’ve seen a lot of writing and discussion about disability and politics on various issues - education, health, society’s attitudes towards disability etc. and as I said, I’m trying to stay politically neutral here so won’t necessarily go into my views on these. Something I’ve noticed, though, (and I would like it to be the message of this post) is that there is a major narrative around the need to consult disabled people on decisions we make in everyday life, rather than disabled people like me being overlooked. The frequent inaccessibility and overlooking of disabled people in politics needs to change. No one should underestimate the value of making their views count.
Everyone has different perspectives, and they should be respected. I’m not suggesting that you should have a conversation with a disabled person before voting or engaging in politics either. I’m simply saying that too often disabled people are marginalised, and when we engage with politics we should look beyond their own views into how their decisions might be affecting others, and recognise the privilege we have if we can freely and easily express views. Many people cannot.
The greater inclusion of disabled people in politics, and recognition of disabled people who are trying to make a difference to their communities would to me be a great move towards equality for everyone - too frequently disabled people are excluded from the places that should have inclusion at the centre of them, and I hope this changes in the future.
Thank you for reading.
Ellie
References:
Disability Rights UK (2019) Election of single-figure disabled MP’s “disappointing”. Available at: https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2019/december/election-single-figure-disabled-mps-disappointing Accessed 27 Oct 2020
Wafula Strike, A. (2019) One in five British people are disabled. So why does politics continue to ignore us? The Guardian. Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/13/disabled-people-politics-brexit-election Accessed 27 Oct 2020
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