Crippen Cartoons cartoons at the cutting edge of disability

WTF?! He’s done it again! The so called Minister for Disabled People Justin Tomlinson has appointed a string of non-disabled people to be his new disability ambassadors!

Surely that would be the same as appointing white people to represent the Black and Minority Ethic population or appointing white males to represent the women of this country … wait, they haven’t, have they?!

This latest ironic twist comes just as his government’s so called National Disability Strategy was claiming it would remove barriers to disabled people’s participation and “acknowledge and appreciate the contribution that disabled people make to our national life” (you couldn’t make this up could you?!).

The strategy – heavily criticised by disabled people’s organisations – aims to “help ensure disabled people can play a full role in society” and “remove barriers to participation in public life”, while it claims that the government is “committed to ensuring fairness and inclusivity in public appointments”.

But Tomlinson’s announcement, published quietly as “guidance” but reported fully in Disability News Service appears to include as few as three disabled people in his new appointments. Although it’s not possible to say exactly how many disabled ambassadors there are, as the Department for Work and Pensions has always refused to provide this number, even though the role is supposed to be about championing disability inclusion.

I shouldn’t really complain, as this idiot keeps me so well supplied with material for my blog!

Description of cartoon for those using screen reading software

Two white men in grey suits are being directed towards a green screen with images of disabled people on them. Where the faces should be are large holes through which they can put their own faces. A large camera on a stand is behind them. The man directing them is saying: “Well if you’re going to be disability ambassadors – you’ll have to look the part … so get behind the screen and stick your face through the hole!”