Voting for a bigger voice

Having recently failed to win a council seat in local elections in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, Andy Rickell is prompted to reflect again at the lack of disabled people in politics

I have previously been a county councillor and a district councillor in Cheltenham, so this was my fourth time in a public election.

It has reminded me about the commitment of all main political parties to see more disabled people become elected representatives at all levels of government, and the public sector duty to encourage the participation of disabled people in public life.

Currently disabled people are, as you might expect given our absence from powerful roles generally, under-represented as MPs and councillors too. Actually amongst local councillors we do better than one might expect, but this is because the usual profile of a councillor is someone who is older and often retired, who therefore is more likely to be impaired due to age. Generally though, disabled people, and certainly those who
are impaired from early in life or who are obviously impaired or who face significant barriers, are seriously under-represented. This is particularly an issue bearing in mind that of all sections of society, disabled and older people depend more for our quality of life on the state than anyone else.

What needs to change to get more disabled people elected? Perhaps the biggest barrier is public perception, and the reaction of political parties to it. The widespread ignorant presumption of the incompetence of disabled people means we are seen as less capable of holding responsible office – witness the discussion there was about the impairments of Gordon Brown and David Blunkett. This then works through the system.

For example, by far the majority of MPs and councillors get elected as members of a main political party. So the disabled candidate who is serious about getting elected needs to be selected by such a party. We already know of the under-representation of women and people from BME communities as parliamentary candidates to see that those responsible for selection decisions fall back on safety, and assume that anyone other than a white male non-disabled candidate may be an electoral risk.

Having managed to convince a selection panel and be adopted as a candidate, the disabled person must then convince the electorate. At both steps this often involves the disabled person proving they are someone extraordinary, which is unfair. What is needed is a positive commitment by political parties to assertively select good disabled candidates and then assertively recommend them to the electorate, maximising their strengths and deliberately addressing any areas where the electorate may worry.

Undoubtedly the best proof of the effectiveness of all disabled elected representatives is when they are given the chance and do a good job.