Policy paper

Political Life: Disabled People’s Stories

A collection of personal stories by disabled people in political life.

• From: Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Government Equalities Office, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and Helen Grant OBE MP
• Published: 3 February 2014

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Documents

Political Life: Disabled People's Stories

MS Word Document, 1.73 MB

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Political Life: Disabled Peoples Stories - plain text

MS Word Document, 56.7 KB

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Details

These case studies are a collection of personal stories by disabled people in political life, as part of the Government’s Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Strategy. They describe the experiences and obstacles faced by people with a range of disabilities, who have been successful in being elected as Members of Parliament or as Local Authority Councillors.

They also describe the experiences of disabled people who are planning to stand for elected office and who are currently gaining the experience and confidence.

The stories include the experiences of:

• young disabled people undertaking paid internships with MPs: experience as intern or Parliamentary researcher is invaluable in seeking selection as a candidate
• disabled people in standing for elected office and how they have benefited from support such as the Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund. This Fund pays for additional disability related costs faced by candidates, such as for transport for people with mobility problems, or British Sigh Language interpretation for people with hearing impairments
• disabled people working in political life: inspirational stories of how people have overcome disabilities and common prejudices, so that they can serve their constituents and make a full and valuable contribution to public life.

Read more on the Access to Elected Office case studies website

We will consider any reasonable request for alternative accessible formats of these documents. Email your request to publications@culture.gsi.gov.uk

Published 3 February 2014