‘Up the workers’ seems to be Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer’s main message in Labour’s new campaigning pamphlet ‘Let’s Get Britain’s Future Back’.
With over 18 mentions of “working people” and not one mention of social care, disability or disabled people, this is the ‘bible’ that Labour will be following, leading up to a general election that is almost certain to be held later this year. Also, although there is a section on repairing the NHS, there is no mention of repairing the damaged social care system, courtesy of the Tory party.
We shouldn’t really be surprised as Labour has consistently shown a complete disregard for disabled people, with even their own disabled members group being ignored whilst recently attempting to bring up issues relating to Labour’s ableist attitude, along with the accusation that Labour was being “institutionally disablist”.
The party, and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, have been continually criticised for their focus on working people, and their failure to highlight the many concerns faced by disabled people and those who cannot work.
Disabled journalist John Pring, writing in the Disability News Service (DNS) reports that there is also no mention of addressing the harm caused by social care charging, which research by disabled campaigners has shown leads to tens of thousands of people across the country every year having debt collection action taken against them by their local authorities over unpaid charges.
DNS reported in October that Labour had dodged a promise made in 2022 that it would produce a policy on whether it would reduce or scrap care charges if it won power at the next general election.
Although this does not mean there will be no disability policies in the party’s final election manifesto, it does suggest that disabled activists will have to fight hard for their concerns to be heard during the coming general election campaign.
Read the full account of this story in Disability News Service.
Description of cartoon for those using screen reading software
Crippen has reproduced the Labour campaign leaflet in cartoon form. Starmer is portrayed wearing a flat cap and has a roll-up behind his ear. Racing pigeons can be seen flying in the background and he has a ferret in his top pocket. Karmer is saying: “Tha knows it’s working-class folk I stand for now – not those disabled scroungers!”
Crippen Cartoons 