• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About DNS
  • Subscribe to DNS
  • Advertise with DNS
  • Support DNS
  • Contact DNS

Disability News Service

the country's only news agency specialising in disability issues

  • Home
  • Independent Living
    • Arts, Culture and Sport
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Housing
    • Transport
  • Activism & Campaigning
  • Benefits & Poverty
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
You are here: Home / Politics / Labour conference: Party ‘showed contempt for autistic members’ by ignoring manifesto
Three people behind a table, with microphones

Labour conference: Party ‘showed contempt for autistic members’ by ignoring manifesto

By John Pring on 30th September 2021 Category: Politics

Listen

Labour has been accused of showing “contempt” for autistic and other neurodivergent party members, after ignoring proposals they submitted as part of a policy development process.

A summary of the neurodiversity manifesto that was put together by members of Neurodivergent Labour was submitted to the party’s National Policy Forum, which has been consulting on new policies on social security, poverty and inequalities.

But the party conference in Brighton heard this week that not a word of the manifesto summary had been included in the National Policy Forum annual report (PDF), which was debated by conference this week.

The manifesto was drawn up by Neurodivergent Labour with the support of John McDonnell, Labour’s former shadow chancellor, who said at the last full party conference in 2019 that senior figures in the party had not done enough to take on the policies outlined in the manifesto.

The disabled activist and author Janine Booth, chair of Neurodivergent Labour, told the conference this week that despite neurodivergent people experiencing “discrimination, prejudice, social isolation and economic exclusion, made worse by Tory austerity”, there was “not a single word about neurodiversity” in more than 100 pages of policy in the report.

She said: “We submitted a comprehensive set of proposals that were widely supported, only to be ignored.”

Booth said that more than 200 party members and more than 100 constituency Labour parties around the country had signed a statement supporting these concerns.

The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) union also raised concerns about the failure to include any of the proposals in the annual report.

Mick Carney, TSSA’s president, told the conference that the failure to mention the manifesto in the policy forum report was “a missed opportunity”.

Jonathan Farr, treasurer of Disability Labour, told Disability News Service later that the conference had paid “scant attention to disability in general”.

He said the manifesto was the second most popular online submission in the consultation on that part of the National Policy Forum process, “and yet not a single word of it went into the final document.

“How is that just or fair? If the Labour party actually cares about disabled people then they need to show that commitment by talking about all disabled people in their policy documents.”

Labour had not responded to a request to comment on the neurodiversity manifesto by noon today (Thursday).

Picture: John McDonnell (left) and Janine Booth (centre) at the 2019 fringe event

 

A note from the editor:

Please consider making a voluntary financial contribution to support the work of DNS and allow it to continue producing independent, carefully-researched news stories that focus on the lives and rights of disabled people and their user-led organisations.

Please do not contribute if you cannot afford to do so, and please note that DNS is not a charity. It is run and owned by disabled journalist John Pring and has been from its launch in April 2009.

Thank you for anything you can do to support the work of DNS…

Share this post:

Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on WhatsAppShare on Reddit

Tags: Autistic Janine Booth John McDonnell Labour Labour conference Neurodivergent Labour neurodiverse

Related

Disabled councillor describes how PIP and access failings stalled her political career
16th June 2022
Public order bill will criminalise disabled protesters, says MP
26th May 2022
Disabled peer calls for pressure on MPs to accept improvements to care bill
7th April 2022

Primary Sidebar

Image shows a man wearing glasses sitting by an open laptop The text reads: Free Career Support for Disabled People Our services include: 1-2-1 Coaching Online Career Resources Find Support near you Search for Inclusive Jobs Career Events and Workshops Visit the Evenbreak Career Hive today to find out how we can help you

Access

Latest Stories

Disabled people are playing their part in defending their country, say Ukraine activists

DPO gives stark warning to disabled people about Covid pandemic

Covid inquiry ‘must examine catastrophic impact of pandemic on disabled people’

Mayor’s ‘ultra low emission zone’ plans ‘will impact tens of thousands of disabled people’

Disabled activists will push for changes to draft mental health bill that ‘breaches rights’

DWP yet to sign claimant deaths legal agreement with watchdog

‘Huge barrier’ of care charges is forcing disabled people into poverty, peers are told

DWP ignored ‘hugely alarming’ research that linked WCA with 600 suicides, MPs are told

Transport secretary silent after misleading MPs about tactile safety markings

DWP’s ‘failing assessment system is increasing poverty and worsening mental health’

Advice and Information

Readspeaker

Footer

The International Standard Serial Number for Disability News Service is: ISSN 2398-8924

  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site map
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2022 Disability News Service

Site development by A Bright Clear Web