By Disabled People Against the Cuts

On Thursday 18th July from noon onwards, a host of disability rights campaigns and allies will welcome the new Labour government into office at Parliament Square by presenting a set of solutions to the multiple crises faced by disabled people across the UK. This will be followed by a celebration of our culture through music, art and poetry.

Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC),Recovery In The Bin, Bromley & Croydon Unite Community, Disability and Migrant Network, and the Trans Safety Network are just some of the organisations taking part in an event titled Disabled People Demand. It’s a day that promises to be both a creative spectacle and a statement of intent towards the newly elected Prime Minister and his party.

The narrative used by successive governments to cut resources and services has seen disabled people unjustifiably being blamed for government spending. These cuts to public services were not forced upon the government by disabled people or migrants; they were a political choice. In under one week in office £3 billion pounds a year has been offered to Ukraine while at the same time Liz Kendall, Department for Work and Pensions minister, has said there are too many disabled people not in work without any mention of the barriers they face to access and keep employment.

We refuse to be the scapegoats for continuing austerity and demand that there is change. The UN Disability Committee have condemned the previous Tory government for the grave and systematic violations of disabled peoples’ human rights and continue to monitor this government too. They shouldn’t forget that.

Now is the time for a new chapter to be written, but disabled people have little hope the new government will to come to our rescue. We will present our solutions to these crises, solutions borne out of our shared experiences of years and of decades fighting back and challenge the new government to deliver them.

#DisabledPeopleDemand our voices are heard and we demand our rightful full participation in the rebuilding our society.

The event will start at 12 noon, with a series of speeches including from John McDonnell MP, Ben Sellers of People’s Assembly and DPAC’s Paula Peters. This will be followed by a showcase of disabled people’s creativity, including exhibitions, music, entertainment and poetry and much, much more.

There will also be events in Liverpool and Leeds on the same day, organised by local DPAC groups in those cities. For full details of these events please see our website and social media.

This is more than a protest. That’s why we are taking this opportunity to present our solutions to political decision-makers and to the rest of the people in the UK. We are putting forward what we believe to be both possible and achievable.

A DPAC spokesperson said: “We have a list of demands that we will campaign for and hold the new government’s feet to the fire on – for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to be enshrined in UK law – which Labour promised to do then renegaded on – for social care charges to be scrapped as they have been in two Local authorities already, for social security to be re-designed and co-produced by us and many more.”

A Recovery In The Bin spokesperson said: “The UK has a political and media system that has enacted a systematic removal of our rights, increased our poverty, and overseen democide. We demand better.”

The Disability And Migrant Network said: “We demand the dismantling of the hostile and disabling restrictions imposed on people seeking services and support whether in the welfare system or the immigration system.”

The Trans Safety Network statement said: “Previous governments neglected the needs of trans and disabled people. They have ignored the disproportionate number of deaths within our communities. Together we can hold the new government to account and demand better for all of us.”

Join us in the streets on 18th July, 1 2 noon, at Parliament Square.