Luke Pollard MP Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
Breaking Down Boundaries – Labour's Disability Pledges
Hello #Plymouth – Today is the United Nations International Day of Disabled people. It’s the day we celebrate the success and contributions of disabled people to our society. The Labour Party has produced a manifesto with and for disabled people: Breaking Down Barriers. We are the only party to have done so. After nearly ten long years of Tory austerity, we are committed to ending the hostile environment they have created for disabled people. We have made 7 key pledges to disabled people: we will close the disability employment and disability pay gap, and bring fairness to the workplace. We will build a new inclusive education system, that will bring fairness to our schools. We need to change the culture at the Department of Work and Pensions, so we will scrap and replace it with a new Department for Social Security. We will end the cruel work capability and Personal Independence Payments assessment framework, that forces people into degrading situations and is unfit for purpose. We will build more accessible and disabled-friendly new homes as part of our affordable housing programme, using the ‘lifetime homes’ standard a condition for homes, enshrining criteria for accessible and inclusive housing design, including wheelchair accessibility. We will guarantee staff guards on every train, so disabled people can travel independently. And we will scrap and replace Universal Credit, that has caused so much misery, not just for disabled people. You can read all of our manifesto for disabled people here:https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Breaking-Down-Barriers.pdfLabour is determined to advocate for and implement these positive policies that will help break down the barriers that hold disabled people back. On December 12, the future for disabled people is on the ballot paper. I'm asking for your support to reelect me, so I can continue to champion disabled people in Parliament. Together we can build a more just and equal society. Let me know what you think Plymouth.
Posted by Luke Pollard on Tuesday, December 3, 2019
- The Labour Party has produced a manifesto with and for disabled people: Breaking Down Barriers.
- Breaking Down Barriers has seven key pledges to empower every citizen to participate fully in our society
- Luke: “Today we celebrate the success and contributions disabled people have made in Plymouth.”
Today marks the 27th anniversary of the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities. To celebrate the Labour Party released their manifesto – Breaking Down Barriers – with and for disabled people. Labour is the only major party to have such a manifesto. Breaking Down Barriers empowers every person to participate fully and equally in society, removing the barriers facing disabled people to access public services; education; employment; transport; justice and housing.
Luke Pollard, running for re-election as the MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said:
“Today is a good chance to celebrate the success and contributions disabled people have made in Plymouth. I want to see the hostile environment, that the Conservatives have created for disabled people. Me and my team have been working hard to make sure disabled people in Plymouth get their fare share. We have claimed back over £600,000 in withheld benefits and lost child support. On the 12th December, the future for disabled people is on the ballot paper. I am asking for your support to re-elect someone who is a champion for disabled people.”
Breaking Down Barriers sets out seven critical pledges for disabled people; these include:
- Closing the disability employment and disability pay gap and bring fairness to the workplace.
- Building a new inclusive education system, that will bring justice to our schools.
- Changing the culture at the Department of Work and Pensions, replacing it with a new Department for Social Security.
- We will end the cruel work capability and Personal Independence Payments assessment framework, that forces people into degrading situations.
- Building more accessible and disabled-friendly new homes as part of Labour’s affordable housing programme, using the ‘lifetime homes’ standard as a condition for homes, enshrining criteria for accessible and inclusive housing design, including wheelchair accessibility.
- Guaranteeing staff guards on every train so that disabled people can travel independently.
- And scraping and replacing Universal Credit, that has caused so much misery.
You can see Breaking Down Barriers here.
