Still denied a voice.

The scale of cuts to spending has predictably generated a great deal of opposition from all kinds of groups affected by the cuts. The media have largely focused on protests against tuition fees (ignoring the fact that anger of abolition of the education maintenance allowance for 16-18 year olds is also driving the protests) and the withdrawal of entitlements to child benefit for people who are higher rate taxpayers. The biggest noise over cuts has so far been made by those groups capable of making noise, and performs a rather functional form of opposition in that it allows the government to demonstrate that “we are all in this together” precisely because those cuts effect people who are wealthy or perceived to be wealthy in the future.

Less visible and noisy has been the opposition to changes in entitlements and support given to people with disabilities. As one activist has put it:

“Most of us can’t physically march, some can’t even speak at all and others don’t know what is being done to them. We have no networks of influential contacts, most can’t attend rallies or flash-mobs.”

A cynic might suggest that this is why people with disabilities face the most uncertain outcome from cuts. It is worth reminding ourselves that some people with disabilities face numerous obstacles in merely exercising the right to vote. Scope’s polls apart campaign aims to end this discrimination, and it’s report contains shocking information about how people with disabilities face numerous obstacles merely to exercise their basic right to vote. If a group of people continue to be denied such a right, then it is not surprising they become the easy targets for cuts that other groups have been able to avoid.

There has been a great deal of progress over recent years in changing attitudes towards disability and the approach taken towards it. From institutionalisation, we have moved towards a more humane approach of supporting people to live independently. However this has also cost money, and has faced criticisms from what we might call the taxpayer lobby, as well as suffered from repeated articles in the media that have suggested people with disabilities are faking it for an easy life on benefits.

Most people with disabilities have not always been disabled, an accident or unfortunate onset of a chronic condition is all it takes for somebody to lose a career and need the help of the welfare state. It could happen to you. The least anybody can do is to ensure that people are supported in exercising a democratic right, because without this right to vote people with disabilities become easy targets for cost cutting. So support Scope’s polls apart campaign.