The Cooperative Party is looking at how it can better include disabled members.

Trying to discuss politics without mentioning the ‘c’ word is impossible right now. For people like me, with a disability, politics is personal – very personal. Decisions made throughout this crisis will affect life & death and whether we survive despite and in the face of the virus. Thriving seems a distant flicker of light for us all. For some of us, it’s a greater struggle still.

Never in recent times has such a global situation thrown up more starkly and more tragically the urgent need for disabled people to be at every level of politics. Never has such a spotlight been shone on heroic allies fighting for the very basics such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for us to retain our dignity and without which we are at increased risk of exposure to the virus.

Our response to this in the Cooperative party is to pool people together to act co-operatively.

Before the crisis hit, we were working towards the creation & launch of a network of co-operators to build a strong dis*able*d member-led arm to the Party. We want to attract a wide pool of talent from across the country to champion the cooperative difference we can make not just to the lives of disabled people and their carers, but to our wider political movement.

We’d already got off to a great start. From a grassroots member-led campaign we’ve now got conference’s support and formed a steering group to lead us through our early days; advising the NEC on policy and practice making sure the disabled community’s voice is heard loud and clear. We now need others to add to that voice.

But we don’t just talk, we are a team of activists seeking change both inside the Party and throughout society.

Since 2010, Tory-led Governments have waged war on disabled people & now we see, in a very real way, how across this country systematically cutting services and support while creating the narrative of disabled people as less valid and a burden to society that has to change course now & after this. We need to create the society we want, to be living our values through the crisis.

We’ve made representation about policy & practice to the Cooperative Party NEC, given recommendations about future campaigns alongside Labour & Cooperative councillors during speeches at conference 2019,  including an inclusive play campaign proposal, and continue to make representation on a range of initiatives.

In the general election, we were out campaigning for candidates which enabled us to make the practical case for more accessible & inclusive campaign models and start to develop workable ideas.

Among our future goals, we will keep urgently highlighting ablism in government decisions and in volunteering strategy. Not to be hostile but we really do want to be inclusively in this together. Looking beyond this, we want to develop on the recommendations from the event held in South London last year, relating to identifying and addressing barriers to standing for public office and civic volunteering.

We are an enthusiastic and friendly group eager to expand both regionally & nationally. Eager to get started in 2020.

If you are not a co-operator, now is a good time to join. If you are, watch out for rescheduled launch details.

Caroline Walsh is interim Chair of the Cooperative Party’s Disabled Members’ Network.

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