The Speaker’s Conference is actively seeking to promote more disabled parliamentary candidates, as well as more women MPs. Immediately after its recommendations were published this week, Conservatives pledged a £1 million four year fund to help more disabled people become MPs, councillors and civil servants. ConservativeHome has written about it here.
Tory spokesman on disability issues, Mark Harper MP is quoted in The Guardian:
"Despite there being over 10 million disabled people in the UK, they are still under-represented in public life. It is important that we break down the barriers which prevent disabled people from standing for public office. Given the recent damage done to the standing of parliament and our politics, it is all the more important that we open up our democracy and set up this fund to ensure that disabled people are given a fair chance to enter public life."
Anne Begg is vice chair of the Speaker’s Conference and confined to a wheelchair. She outlines the recently published recommendations in this video I recorded after we met earlier this this week:
We certainly need more to voice this group.
Great stuff Ellee. Got your message, but been a bit under the cosh! I’ll call over the next couple of days!
Hi Richard, many thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you in good time.
I think C would make a great MP!
[…] Begg who is to be made a dame in the New Year honour’s list. She has been rewarded for her services to the disabled and her work on equal opportunities; she was vice-chair of the rarely held […]