Friend on friends and allies

Chair of RADAR and long-time disabled activist Phil Friend reflects on the 40-year fight for rights following the passing of a seminal act

In 1970, I was becoming interested in disability from a political point of view. The Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act put disability rights on the political map. It was the first piece of legislation I remember which recognised that disabled people should be treated fairly and equally.

Its impact was gradual but one thing that I remember very clearly was the emergence of the young disabled units (YDUs). Before the Act, severely disabled people with impairments like multiple sclerosis and spinal cord lesions could find themselves living in geriatric wards filled with very old people who had Alzheimer’s. But when the act was passed younger disabled people were moved out of these wards, which meant that they had more independence and could go out and could lead slightly more normal lives. I remember the YDU being built in Hillingdon. It was in the grounds of the hospital, not outside in the community, but at least it wasn’t on a ward.

The other major change I recall was that the Act brought in some protection in terms of the accessibility of universities. Although there were lots of get-out clauses which meant that institutions could avoid making buildings more accessible, it was the first time I remember people talking about disabled students and disabled people having the right to go to university.

An example of the usual level of disabled people’s expectations, particularly those in special schools, before the Act is that when I left school in 1961, I left with a guy called George. He said that he was going to sign on. He said “I’m going to save all my benefit money and I’ll buy a gold watch”. He was 16 and had a slight weakness on one side of his body, which by today’s standards is not really severely disabled at all. But he’d already retired. He wasn’t that unusual. Many disabled people in the ‘60s and ‘70s were “grateful” for the benefits they got and being looked after by society.

Another legacy of the Act, which had already brought about improved civil rights, is that Alf Morris with Jack Ashley began to develop strong alliances with groups of disabled and non-disabled people which was quite novel then. Groups like the Spastics Society (now Scope) and RADAR began to see that there was real mileage in forming strategic alliances with politicians who could deliver bills that would increase opportunities for disabled people. As a result campaigning groups run by disabled people began to flourish.

Despite all this, there still remains the sense that we should be grateful for what we’ve got: we are still not being given the support we need to ensure that we have the opportunity to enjoy the life chances that non-disabled people expect.

• Phil Friend was talking to Sunil Peck