The Scottish government has failed to introduce a new law that would have improved access to pubs and clubs for disabled customers, more than six years after it was approved by parliament. The Scottish parliament passed the measure as an amendment […]
Politics
Labour’s ‘lazy indifference to equality’ condemns access measure to Lords defeat
A disabled peer has attacked Labour’s “lazy indifference” to disability equality, after it failed to back moves that would have forced bars, shops and restaurants to ensure their premises obeyed laws on accessibility when renewing their alcohol licences. Peers tried to […]
Scottish government lays out 93 actions to help country meet UN obligations
The Scottish government has described the 93 actions it believes will help Scotland meet its obligations under the UN disability convention, and address some of the harm caused to disabled people by the UK government’s “austerity economics” policies. It published its […]
DWP media reports ignore benefit deaths… and IDS resignation
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) civil servants ignored media coverage that exposed how ministers’ policies had led to the deaths of benefit claimants, in a series of confidential reports for their bosses. The DWP Media Evaluation reports, obtained by Disability […]
Chancellor’s social care and WRAG omissions ‘show contempt for disabled people’
The chancellor has shocked disabled activists by ignoring the social care funding crisis in his autumn statement, and refusing to scrap a planned cut to employment and support allowance (ESA). Despite weeks of lobbying from disabled people, politicians – including some […]
Abrahams ‘uninvites’ DPO… because it wanted to talk about independent living
Labour’s relationship with the disability movement has suffered another blow after the party invited a disabled people’s organisation to speak at a major consultation launch, and then withdrew the invitation after discovering what it was planning to speak about. The party’s […]
Brothers speaks out on Labour’s failure to appoint shadow disability minister
One of Labour’s most prominent disabled politicians has called on her own party to demonstrate its intent to hold the government to account by appointing a shadow disability minister. Labour admitted last week that it had still not appointed a shadow […]
Labour admits ‘confusion’… but still no shadow minister for disabled people
Labour has admitted that it has still not appointed a shadow minister for disabled people, nearly three weeks after party leader Jeremy Corbyn completed a reshuffle of his top parliamentary team. There has now not been a Labour shadow minister to […]
Speaker ‘must take a stance’ on job-share MPs
The speaker of the House of Commons must “take a stance” on calls for new laws that would allow candidates to stand jointly for election as job-share MPs, according to the disabled president of the Liberal Democrats. Baroness [Sal] Brinton spoke […]
Labour conference: Disabled members welcome Corbyn’s re-election
Disabled party members have given overwhelming backing to the re-election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour party. Corbyn was elected with 62 per cent of the vote, in a result announced on the first day of Labour’s annual conference […]