Press Statement from Irwin Mitchell law firm
24/06/2016
How Does The Brexit Vote Affect The Rights Of Disabled People?
Fiona McGhie, Public Law expert at Irwin Mitchell, said: “The common law and legislation in the UK have provided rights and protections for people with disabilities.
“In addition both the EU and the UK have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) which guarantees equality of rights of disabled people before the law on issues such as health, education, employment, access to justice and independent living. The UK is also a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of disability (Article 14) and offers protection for people with disabilities through a number of the other articles. The Human Rights Act incorporates these rights into domestic legislation.
“The UK has developed a string of positive legislation for the protection of the rights of those with disabilities, most notably the Equality Act 2010. This Act consolidated a large amount of existing legislation (including those relating to other protected characteristics such as race, religion, gender and sexual orientation). This and previous legislation were introduced to ensure compliance with a number of EU equality directives.
“Membership of the EU offers a large degree of protection for people with disabilities because of its directives on equality. However, if that protection was removed by a vote to leave the EU, people with disabilities would still benefit from the CRPD and the ECHR. It is unlikely that Equality Act would be repealed should the UK leave the EU, as we would still need to comply with the other international conventions which we have ratified. However, people with disabilities would not benefit from any further directives or regulations that the EU issued on disability rights and would be reliant on domestic legislation and common law keeping pace with the advancement of the rights of people with disabilities.
“What Brexit would affect is the ability to potentially rely on the European Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR) which in particular includes many wider social and economic rights, such as the rights to fair and just working conditions, to healthcare and to have personal data protected. If disabled people wished to try and strike down UK legislation as incompatible with rights under CFR under EU law – that avenue may not be available after the vote to leave.”
ENDS
Dear friends,
I just signed the petition “A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN JEREMY CORBYN AFTER BREXIT” and wanted to ask if you could add your name too.
This campaign means a lot to me and the more support we can get behind it, the better chance we have of succeeding. You can read more and sign the petition here:
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/a-vote-of-confidence-in-jeremy-corbyn-after-brexit
Can you also take a moment to share the petition with others? It’s really easy – all you need to do is forward this email or click these links:
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Thank you!
Isn’t it typical that the Blairite mob attempt to use their idiotic schoolyard spouting of insults rather than factual debate as a ‘reason’ to get rid of the one person who was actually elected by the Labour voters they have ignored for decades?
Now their own ineptitude reaches even dafter depths when they waste a God-given opportunity to rise above the Tories by accepting and acting on the will of the People for the furtherance of their Right of centre dogma.
When accepting the expressed will of the electorate is presented as a sign of weakness and unsuitability to govern we know that our system is no longer democratic.
Unsurprisingly I have signed the petition and urge all democrats to do likewise.
Jon
Prior to the vote, I was asked by a quite a number of disabled people which way they should vote. Of course as an advocate I did not give advice on this or any other matter. However, I did provide them with information for them to make their own informed choices.
Much of what I said to them has already been mentioned on earlier posts above on this issue. It is correct to say that the EU has provided us with very little if any protection from the continual attacks by the Tory Party on the economic well-being and the ability to maintain the independence of disabled people in the UK since 2010.
Now, with the very real possibility of an even more right-wing PM and Cabinet, I doubt if there will be much relief from those attacks until we can have another General Election.
However, it is also undeniably true that membership of the EU has brought certain benefits and rights to disabled people living in the UK that may not have been enacted without that EU Influence on UK law.
I would value the opinion of other disabled people on one particular issue that cropped up last year and which was apparently sneaked through under the radar of most people including the media.
Apparently, changes were made in October last year to the Ministerial Code that to my non-qualified legal interpretation meant that UK Government Ministers could then ignore international treaties and the impact that they have on us.
I may be entirely wrong on this issue (it won’t by any means be the first time) but I would greatly value any advice or clarification on this matter. I do remember being quite concerned about this at the time, not least because of the investigation then to be undertaken by the UN Committee on the Rights of People with Disabilities which was of course sparked by DPAC.
I know that the Committee’s Special Rapporteur and team completed their investigations some time ago. However, I have not yet seen a copy of their final report – there is always the possibility that I have simply missed the news on this matter.
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From the time Article 50 is brought in to play it takes two years to leave the EU.
This will be delayed until at least after October. Probably ‘to allow continuity of leadership’ or some other excuse.
So. despite the vote in favour of leaving, it’s October 2018 at the very earliest for any change.
The Brexit gang claim the EU costs the UK £350,000,000 a week. Recently Rhodri Morgan stated that this was rubbish and the figure was ‘ONLY’ £150,000.000 a week.
That is a gain in retained Tax income of £7,800,000,000 a year – in rough figures, at the lowest estimate by a spokesperson for the ‘Remain Gang’ almost £8 Billion a year.
On the second day after the vote, European leaders are already backing off from their knee-jerk sabre rattling. Within a few months, they will be cutting each other’s throats to enter into individual trade deals with the UK (or treasure island as we are known).
At present, there are 350,000 economic migrants coming in to the UK to work every year. There are 1.7 million unemployed – just think 6 years and the powers that be may even have real jobs (with real pay) for us.
There will be no short term changes. We now need to concentrate on the EU money being re-directed towards us.
Jon
P.S. I think, Farage is an idiot, Cameron, an entitled twerp, Osborne, someone who gives junkies a bad name, and IDS the second coming of Lucifer. Not exactly the normal Brexit fan 😉
“It is unlikely that Equality Act would be repealed should the UK leave the EU …”
Even though the Tories have made it perfectly clear that that’s precisely what they intend to do?
It’s the Human Rights Act that they have said they will repeal (and replace with a Bill of Rights) – however it may not be possible for them to do this as its the basis for international treaties, including the Northern Ireland peace accords.
They haven’t said they will remove the Equality Act and it’s even harder for them to repeal as it is tied into international treaties such as UNCRPD
I did not see or feel or see representation from all this legislation when my wife had an ATOS appeal and lost all her benefits . Treated with as much respect as the steam off this Lawyer and Doctors urine.
i feel for steve..that is correct, the eu did not protect us from the tories and never could..we need a goverment that understands..not tories, ..i voted out, ..it was sad to see disabled peoples fears played on as if the eu was our savour…look at what they have done to the greeks….no our worrys are with our goverment, and the need to change it.
However we will still have protection under the UNCRPD, so we could seek legal redress via that vehicle via the UK Legal System, but it would end at the UK Supreme Court as we will not have access to the EU Court Systems. Adam…