Disability and Representation in British Politics
| Published date | 01 September 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/20419058241282463 |
| Author | Elizabeth Evans,Stefanie Reher |
| Date | 01 September 2024 |
SEPTEMBER 2024•POLITICAL INSIGHT45
On 22 May 2024 Conservative MP
Craig Mackinlay returned to the
House of Commons after an
eight-month period of absence
in which he had been treated for a sepsis – a
treatment that involved a double amputation.
Upon his return he declared that he wanted to
be known as the ‘bionic MP’ to raise awareness
and inspire others. Two days later, following the
announcement of a snap election, Mackinlay
announced he would not be seeking
re-election due to the ‘rigours’ of an election
combined with ‘70-80 hour working weeks.’ The
barriers to re-election highlighted by Mackinlay
will be familiar to disabled people thinking
about putting themselves forward for elected
oce. Indeed, Mackinlay’s brief return to the
Commons made him only the ninth disabled
MP to serve in the 2019-2024 Parliament.
Scant attention
Disability did not feature prominently in the
Almost a quarter of the British population are disabled. But there are
only a handful of disabled MPs in Parliament and disability issues
rarely feature. This needs to change, write Elizabeth Evans and
Stefanie Reher.
2024 election. The party manifestos paid
little attention to disability, and where it
was mentioned, the focus tended to be on
reforming the benets system (Conservative)
or encouraging disabled people into work
(Labour). The smaller parties did include more
detailed policies, for instance incorporating
the United Nations Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities into UK law (Liberal
Democrats) or reinstating the access to the
elected oce fund (Greens), which helps
candidates meet additional disability-related
costs – a fund which we have found to be
important to disabled candidates
Beyond policy, there were rare occasions
when disability came to the fore of the
recent election. For example, Steve Darling, a
Disability and
Representation in
British Politics
© Jordan Pettitt / Alamy Stock Photo
Political Insight September 2024 BU.indd 45Political Insight September 2024 BU.indd 4521/08/2024 16:2421/08/2024 16:24
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