Crippen Cartoons cartoons at the cutting edge of disability

A legal challenge has been launched against the government for failing to use their emergency powers to ensure patients and their families understand how decisions are made about Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders in light of the current coronavirus pandemic.

The legal challenge is being brought by Kate Masters, daughter of the late David Tracey, who brought a successful judicial review in 2014 establishing a violation of his late wife’s Article 8 rights in relation to an imposed DNR order.

This case established that that there is a legal duty to consult with and inform patients if a DNR order is placed on their records except in very narrow circumstances.

Kate decided to launch the legal challenge following numerous reports in the media of DNR notices being imposed in seemingly blanket ways, without consultation with patients or their families and showing a great amount of confusion within the general public over the need for consent.

She believes that decision making around DNRs has become opaque, inconsistent and deficient. In addition, she is greatly concerned about her own position due to her ongoing health problems and serious conditions affecting her family members and feels at significant risk of a DNR decisions being made without proper process.

Click here to read the Welfare Weekly article in full.

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Two disabled people, one using a wheelchair, and another identified by their t-shirt as a survivor’s poet, have had DNR stamped onto their foreheads in indelible ink by a doctor. On the floor is a torn up DNR consent form. On the wall is a sign that reads ‘hospital admissions’. The doctor is saying: “There you go – no more messing around with those stupid forms!”

An alliance of disabled people working across the UK creative industries have come together to campaign for an inclusive cultural recovery following the Covid 19 pandemic.

Called ‘We shall not be removed’, this is an emergency response led by disabled people for disabled people working across the UK’s creative industries. Designed as a forum to advocate, campaign and support D/deaf, neurodiverse and disabled creative practitioners and organisations through and after COVID.

In an article following the first on-line meeting of the group, Disability Arts Online Magazine reports that as disability arts communities have become more and more isolated due to the current crisis, so it seems our concerns have been increasingly put aside by the authorities and by the media. Our position within society has become ever more fragile within a very short space of time as new policies responding to the pandemic have ignored the plight of disabled people

The last decade has seen a flowering of disabled people’s talent in every artform and increasing levels of inclusion across the cultural mainstream, but all this progress is threatened by the pandemic.

The aims of the alliance are:

● To ensure a sustainable future for disability and inclusive arts in the UK through and after the pandemic

● To amplify the voices of D/deaf, neurodiverse and disabled creative practitioners & disability arts organisations at a time of crisis for the arts and for disabled people

Launched on 6 May with an inaugural meeting held on 4 June, membership of the new alliance has already reached over 150 individual disabled creative practitioners, disability arts organisations and those that work inclusively, from across the four UK nations, across artforms and across impairment groups. New members are actively sought to ensure the alliance reflects the full diversity of disabled people working in creative industries.

For more information please click here to follow the full article in the Disability Arts Online magazine.

To access the open letter to the Culture Ministers please click here.

To contact the organisers email – weshallnotberemoved@gmail.com

And for twitter #weshallnotberemoved

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A large broom labelled ‘government clean up’ is sweeping a blue liquid down an open drain. The liquid which is identified as Covid 19, contains pieces of card representing disability arts groups and organisations and include Graeae Theatre, Candoco, Drake Music, Disability Arts Cymru, Access all areas, Shape arts, Hijinx and DAO. Across the top of the page is an email address – weshallnotberemoved@gmail.com – and a twitter hash tag that reads ‘weshallnotberemoved’.

Keir Starmer will need to address a series of pledges that he made to disabled people during his successful campaign to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader.

During his leadership campaign Keir Starmer called for “radical action” on social care with the introduction of free social care and a legal right to independent living.

He also backed a motion that was passed at last autumn’s party conference that called for a new National Independent Living Support Service for England that would provide a universal right to independent living that was “enshrined in law”.

He has also backed calls for an independent inquiry into deaths linked to the actions of the Department for Work and Pensions, describing those deaths as “deeply disturbing” and calling for justice for the families of those affected. He also promised an over-haul of the “deeply flawed” Universal credit system.

In an interview with the Disability News Service he also said that he would push as prime minister for the government to “fully resource” the Equality and Human Rights Commission, to ensure it can “more effectively enforce” the Equality Act and stop discrimination against disabled people.

He also backed the idea of incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities into UK law and pledged that addressing the poor provision of accessible housing “must be a priority for any future Labour government”.

Come on then Keir, this is the chance you’ve got to show that you can be the instrument for change and also win the support of the thousands of disabled people who are currently being cruelly treated by this Tory government.

You never know, you may even get some of us to re-join the Labour Party!

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A large group of disabled people, representing a cross section of impairment and ethnicity are gathered together. They are holding banners which spell out promises made by the new Labour leader Keir Starmer. They read free social care, a national centre for independent living, and a public enquiry into the deaths of disabled benefits claimants. Opposite them stands Keir Starmer and another Labour party member. Starmer is saying: “Surely they realise that I can’t do much in opposition”. His colleague is saying: “But you can offer the support that disabled people are looking for!”

Since blogging about children who attend Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) schools and the devastating effect that the Coronavirus Bill has had on their education, I have been getting some feedback from their parents and teachers.

At the time of writing, with all SEND schools closed, parents are currently struggling at home to provide support for their disabled children. Here are just a few of the responses I’ve received since I posted the SEND article.

“We need the stats on deaths in SEND schools. My son is a SEND teacher, working in a (non-residential) school for young people with profound disabilities. Before the lockdown, something like 50% of the staff had already contracted Covid 19, one was so ill as to be hospitalised, and at least one student has died from it.” (Parent of Teacher. Bristol)

“I fear we will find that there has been a terrible hidden tragedy within the SEND school system once things return to normal.” (SEND Parent. Brighton)

“The staff are really trying hard to keep it together and deliver distance learning – but this is even harder than in mainstream, with a much lower take-up of online lessons/classes.” (SEND Teacher. London)

“There are lots of economically impoverished SEND students, and families struggling to even get fed. And that’s before we get to tech poverty. It’s as though the government have written us all off!” (SEND Teacher. Glasgow)

“I’ve seen some of the online lessons and given that SEND teachers are delivering them with no additional funding, from home, on their own equipment, they’re really trying so hard to deliver for their students. I’ve got nothing but admiration for their devotion to their students.” (SEND Parent. Reading)

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Boris Johnson is driving a large blue bulldozer and is pushing large boxes labelled care act, equalities act and SEND into a large hole. A big sign alongside of the hole reads ‘Tory equality land fill site’. Boris is saying: “They’re all getting equal treatment as far as I’m concerned!”

Apart from the fact that we don’t physically get out on the streets anymore and shout about our rights as disabled people, there’s been a resounding lack of complaint from mainstream society about the way that this government are chopping apart our equality legislation.

I think one of the main reasons is that we have disappeared into the modern equivalent of a ghetto; we’ve changed our analogue lives for one where we reside digitally – online.

As far as the public are concerned because they don’t generally access our specialised blogs and social media pages, we’ve disappeared and no longer present as a viable candidate for equality anyway.

I know that it is much more accessible to live our lives online rather than struggling to overcome the many barriers that confront us in the ‘real’ world. We share our lives and our experiences online, we communicate online, and we create and generate our ideas online. But the downside of this is that we have disappeared off the mainstream radar.

I’d argue that we’ve pretty much gone full circle to where we were a couple of decades ago when to see a disabled person out and about was a rarity, with the general public having little or no awareness of our rich and colourful community. The assumption that we live in care homes and are ‘cared for’ and that we don’t actually go out to work or hold any position of responsibility seems to be how we are viewed once more.

In my last blog I had a rant again about how Boris and his cronies are systematically taking apart any protection that we had in the form of legislation and that no one seems to be doing anything about it.

Perhaps it’s time to get back out on the streets again and remind the public that we do exist and that we haven’t conveniently gone away.

Hello … is anyone there?!

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A young female wheelchair user is saying hello to a little boy. The boy is with his father and is asking him: “What is that dad?”. The father replies: “They’re called the disabled – didn’t realise they still existed!”

We are losing the legislative safety net that we fought so hard to establish and the majority of disabled people in the UK seem unaware that it is happening.

Those of us who took to the streets back in the day and demonstrated and protested about the lack of access to mainstream society, the lack of accessible transport and the lack of legislation to protect us from the discrimination that permeated our lives both socially and in the work place, have watched in disbelief as this government systematically dismantle everything that we fought for. And no one seems to be doing anything about it.

Along with other Bloggers and disabled activists I’ve tried to raise awareness of the fact that the dismantling of the parts of our democracy that provides the equality safety net for disabled people is happening now, in front of us.

This government no longer seem to have any accountability for its actions, as what would normally have led to sackings or resignations are now accepted as the norm. And of course, it’s the usual outcome of such behaviour that eventually leads to a scapegoat being needed.

Recognise the pattern? It has happened before and it will certainly happen again if we allow it.

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Boris Johnson and Demonic Cummings are standing looking at a large poster which has a group of disabled people on it. The poster reads ‘Wanted for crimes against society – The Disabled’. There is also one of the infamous ‘be alert’ signs on the wall amended to read ‘Be alert – blame the disabled’. Cummings is saying to Boris: “The public will need someone to blame when it all hits the fan!” Boris replies: “Brilliant Dom!”

The cover up by the DWP regarding the deaths of disabled benefit claimants continues as coroners’ reports are ‘lost’.

New information shows that the missing reports were written by coroners in 2015 and 2016 and warned the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) that more disabled people would die if the department failed to act.

Entitled ‘prevention of future deaths’, these reports have never been published, nor, we understand, been acted upon by the DWP.

The existence of the two unpublished reports was first revealed by the Disability News Service (DNS) in March and despite questions from Labour’s new shadow minister for disabled people, Vicky Foxcroft, the DWP refuse to provide any real information, other than to agree that the reports existed, and that one of the reports related to the death of a benefit claimant who took their own life.

This is just another example of reports and documentation relating to the deaths of disabled benefits claimants being lost, shredded or amended in some way by the DWP (see my previous Blogs).

Surely they have a legal obligation to be accountable for their actions and to be answerable to parliament?!

… Sorry, can’t think what came over me then. We are talking about disabled people here and let’s face it, nobody gives a shit!

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An open grave dominates the cartoon with a headstone reading ‘Benefit claimant deaths’ printed on it. A large black vulture sits on the headstone. A young man in a suit and carrying a shovel is filling the grave with reports whilst other reports lie at his feet. Standing alongside of him are the grim reaper and Iain Duncan Smith (IDS). The reaper is saying to IDS: “As long as you keep the evidence buried Iain you’ll be OK!”

Disabled activist and advocate for disabled asylum seekers, Manjeet Kaur has died on Saturday 25th April in Manchester.

Manjeet was involved in many campaigns around the country. Ellen Clifford from DPAC recalls “the first time I met Manjeet was at a national anti-bedroom tax conference in London. She had come down with campaign groups from the greater Manchester area which were notably led by disabled women. Her quiet strength, her resolute, kind spirit and her sparkle were immediately apparent. She leaves behind an enormous hole in the fight for social justice and in our hearts.”

Rebecca Yeo of Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) spoke about her friend: “She contributed so much and taught me things that I will never forget. She became a good friend who I could talk to about whatever was happening. Her warmth, commitment and solidarity led her to make strong connections with people from a wide range of backgrounds in different parts of the country.

Dennis Queen of Manchester DPAC explains, “Manjeet made alliances that were new here, and we have a lot to thank her for. We pledge to continue Manjeet’s work, and honour her memory, by maintaining and growing the links between Disabled People’s Organisations and asylum seekers groups in Manchester.”

After her daughter, Naysa, was born in 2015, Manjeet cut back on travelling to different parts of the country. Her priority was to be with her wonderful, fun-loving and vivacious daughter. She made an exception for an event in Bristol in 2018, bringing together the disabled people’s movement, the asylum sector and allies. She spoke movingly at this event, mobilising people to work together to resist the barriers faced by disabled asylum seekers. She explained, “You feel you are fighting for something you don’t deserve. You have to feel it should not be like that. Then you can make a difference”.

Rebecca Yeo adds “She leaves behind an enormous hole in the fight for social justice and in our hearts. We send our deepest condolences to her family and most particularly to her daughter Naysa.”

Click here to read the full memorial to Manjeet on the DPAC web site

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A caricature of Manjeet sitting in her electric wheelchair and holding a placard that reads ‘No human being is illegal’.

I’m often accused of being a conspiracy theorist, especially when addressing the high number of deaths of disabled people associated with the DWP benefit assessments.

But this latest move by the government to ease lock down restrictions too soon can only be seen as yet another example of their corrupt thinking and a deliberate act to end yet more disabled people’s lives.  

Poor bumbling Boris: portrayed as the good guy, doing his best to protect us all from this virus pandemic. It must have come as an unexpected bonus then when he and his cronies realised that they could continue their cull of the ‘‘useless eaters’ in a way that couldn’t be directly attributed to them.

Imagine it; there’s Iain Duncan Smith rubbing his hands together in glee as his part in the cull has resulted in him being rewarded with a knighthood, and eugenicist Cummings ticking off another box in their master plan to rid society of those of us who are perceived as a burden.

I know that I’m not the only Crip to view the actions of this government with suspicion. Our friends at Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), Bristol Reclaiming Independent Living (BRIL) and Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled people (GMCDP) have all come out shouting about the callous disregard that this government have towards disabled people during this pandemic.

Click here to read the excellent article in John Pring’s Disability News Service (DNS) regarding the protest being voiced by disabled people across the country.

Dedicated to the memory of disabled activist and DPAC member Manjeet Kaur, who died last month from coronavirus.

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Iain Duncan Smith (IDS), Dominic Cummings and Boris Johnson are all standing in a line wearing identical grey suits and sporting blue ties. Cummings is holding a document that reads ‘Master Plan’ and IDS is holding a magic lamp from which a genie has spouted. The genie is holding a black bottle on which is printed Covid 19. Cummings is saying: “Hmm … I wonder what we could wish for?”

It appears that the government has not fully considered the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on blind and partially sighted people.

Labour’s shadow Women and Equalities secretary Marsha de Cordova has raised concerns that the government have excluded blind and partially sighted people from its coronavirus vulnerable list. She said:

“Blind and partially sighted people are unable to access priority online grocery deliveries and are forced to do without vital supplies. This is due to supermarkets basing their priority list on the government’s guidance on shielding and protecting people, and therefore leaving disabled people out who would have otherwise been on the list.”

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has already taken action on this issue. It has launched a petition to:

“make sure supermarkets and the Government are doing everything they can to ensure blind and partially sighted people can access priority shopping delivery slots and get the necessities they need through the coronavirus lockdown.”

It also raised other issues for blind and partially sighted people during the pandemic. These include:

• Them relying on guides who may not be “part of their household”. This puts some blind and partially sighted people at odds with the government’s rules around only going outside with people from your own household.
• The new two-metre distancing rules which would make usually familiar surroundings now unfamiliar.

There are still unresolved issues for many Disabled people. Not least among these is the government not providing a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter during its daily coronavirus briefings. But it seems that even the basic necessities in life for some people have not been considered by the government.

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The scene is set in the entrance lobby of Fresco’s supermarket. An older shop assistant is welcoming a young Asian man with purple hair who is wearing dark glasses and carrying a white stick. There are large black arrows on the floor leading into the store. A large sign on the wall advises customers that they must follow the arrows and keep two meters apart. The shop assistant is saying: “Just follow the instructions dear!”. The visually impaired man has a large exclamation mark over his head!