Charley Lincoln, Northampton Socialist Party
Discrimination practices towards disabled people, on the narrative of ‘being less than, for doing less’ is beyond antiquated, yet it seems to be a part of the culture in Westminster, going as far as to remove the position of disability minister.
Sunak fails to comprehend that under the Conservatives, life for disabled people has been decimated, while a flourishing blame culture exists as a ‘get out of jail card’ for government economic failure, constantly pinned on those who already have little and no voice. Given welfare reform changes, there is a very real danger that sick or disabled people should do indentured work in return for benefits. In the sixth-wealthiest country, the most vulnerable are guilt-tripped and bullied because we simply dare to exist and take space.
Earlier this year, the Guardian reported that Bristol council proposed a care policy to force disabled members living in the community into institutional homes if the cost of support was ‘too much’. A policy to ‘warehouse’ disabled people, a nightmare where a bureaucrat deems your life too expensive, and you’re forced to spend the rest of your days in an institution.
Disabled people have already felt pressured to go into care due to the ever-increasing care contribution, a very real tax placed on them. In 2017, the Equality and Human Rights Commission warned that the NHS placed limits on funds for in-home living will see adults “interned” in care homes in a “potential breach of their human rights”, insinuating that Bristol’s care policy would be even more of a breach.
The funding of local authorities across the country has assaulted any social safety net, having the largest impact on marginalised communities. If not for the local action of the Bristol Reclaiming Independent Living (BRIL) campaign alongside other disability media outlets, who broke the story and managed to get it withdrawn. However this does not mean it is off the table.
We need to change how the system runs and who runs it. Take the NHS; the central government has chosen to using more private companies, but looking at our dental care we know the outcome of further pro-capitalist government solutions. The establishment is unwilling to learn anything from the slow sneaky selling of the NHS over the last ten years and more, serving to limit and restrict care to the working class. The UK establishment self-appointed task in undermining trust and consent demonstrating no respect for any social contracts or public pledges to the people.
