In our recently published book Disability and Political Representation (accessible formats available soon!) Stefanie Reher and I explored the ways in which disabled people are excluded and marginalised within politics. We argue that it matters whom we elect to represent us. Politicians make our laws but they should also reflect the society they are elected to serve. Although it’s difficult to identify the numbers, we know that disabled people are under-represented across all parliaments in the UK. We interviewed disabled politicians, party members and disability activists from across the political spectrum, and they all believed that increasing the number of disabled politicians was important, because they would be able to draw upon their lived experience of disability to improve the representation of disabled people.
There are several barriers facing disabled people who want to put themselves forward for elected office. There are problems of accessibility – including buildings, the organisation of meetings and events, and the ways in which materials are formatted. There are also problems that stem from the ableist culture in which we live, and the fact that disability and disabled people are often viewed negatively. Another barrier relates to the financial constraints and the additional associated costs which disabled candidates face.
Putting yourself forward for national office – especially in a competitive seat – can place a lot of financial pressure on candidates. This is made worse by the fact that candidates often have to campaign full-time in the run-up to an election. Disabled candidates we interviewed reported that finance was a significant problem and resulted in some going into debt. We spoke to one person who told us how he had taken time off work during the campaign, but because he was self-employed this meant that he had lost out on income, had to borrow money and turned down work.
Some of the accessibility barriers can be addressed by making reasonable adjustments, while physical and/or mobility barriers can be overcome by making sure that venues and events are properly accessible. Printing materials in accessible formats, installing hearing loops, and providing scribes can also make politics more accessible. Yet, many of the people we spoke to told us that parties often used their limited financial resources to explain and/or justify why such adjustments were not made. This meant that disabled candidates typically had to either pay for adjustments themselves or they were prevented from participating.
In 2012 the UK Government launched the Access to Elected Office Fund to provide additional funding for disabled candidates to increase the number of disabled politicians. This fund was discontinued in 2015. In 2018 the Government launched a temporary EnAble Fund to support disabled candidates who could apply for grants of between £250 and £40,000, but this fund was not continued. An evaluation of the fund, which we undertook, found that recipients believed that the fund had helped reduce the barriers to elected office. The funds covered additional costs faced by disabled people campaigning in elections, e.g. transport or assistive equipment, with the aim of allowing them to compete on a ‘level playing field’ with non-disabled candidates. Although the UK
Government has not reintroduced the fund, the devolved governments in Scotland and Wales have introduced their own access to elected office funds.
Although disabled people’s organisations have called for the fund to be reinstated, this has not happened. Neither the Labour, Conservative nor Liberal Democrat manifestos contain a commitment to reinstating the fund. So far only the Green Party have committed to its reintroduction, importantly on a permanent basis. And, while a cross-party group of MPs tabled an Early Day Motion to reintroduce the fund, this received just 21 signatures.
Beyond access to elected office, there are also a range of barriers to disabled people voting – not least the introduction of new voter ID laws – as well as barriers to becoming active within political parties. Not all-party websites are presented in accessible formats, local parties do not always meet in accessible venues, and norms surrounding campaigning mean that disabled people are sometimes prevented from joining in.
Electoral politics has a long way to go to be accessible for disabled people. Reintroducing the access to elected office fund – something that has recently been introduced in New Zealand - would be one important step toward making politics more inclusive, accessible and ultimately representative.