Addressing the barriers preventing disabled people from becoming fully involved in politics.
Access to Politics Charter
If your party is serious about increasing the number of disabled people running for elected office, there should be a specific internal campaign to ask for and encourage disabled people to put themselves forward for selection. Candidate training and mentorship is a great way to build capacity and confidence.
Even with this (and the implementation of other charter points) disabled people may still face an uneven playing field due to the additional barriers they face. The Scottish Government-funded Access to Elected Office Fund can fund additional impairment-related costs that a disabled person may face when running for selection and election, while the Access to Politics project provides support and advice to parties and disabled people.
There’s still much more parties can do to increase disabled people’s representation in elected roles. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has laid out how parties can improve disabled people’s political participation in Part 1 of their report, Equality Act 2010: a guide for political parties.
Useful Links
Addressing the barriers preventing disabled people from becoming fully involved in politics.
