As we draw nearer to the Labour leadership elections in which DPAC do not endorse any one particular candidate we wanted to update our supporters about the lack of responses we have had from candidates to our request for more information on their views and previous support.
We’re sorry to have to report that the only candidates’ staff who have so far got back to us to ask what the deadline was are Angela Rayner and Keir Starmer.
We’re guessing that the questions candidates are finding difficult are the last two – :
- Could you say briefly why and how you being leader/deputy leader of the Labour Party would benefit DPAC as a human rights campaign group and our disabled members?
- Could you give us a couple of examples of when and how you’ve supported DPAC in the last 9 years or since you became an MP if that is a shorter time.
Here are a full list of our questions. You may want to message or tweet to candidates and ask them to respond to us.
Dear
Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) are asking all leader and deputy leader candidates about their attitude and beliefs around a few specific issues and we will be posting your responses, or alternatively lack of them if that is the case, on our website for our supporters information and to help inform their voting preferences for the forthcoming election.
Could we ask you your position on the following issues –
- Do you agree that Universal Credit should be stopped and scrapped?
- Do you agree that there needs to be a total reform of welfare including scrapping PIP and ESA both of which have been shown to fail and cause harm to disabled people.
- Would you end all sanctions on claimants?
- Would you support ending contracts to discredited private firms for carrying out disability assessments and making GPs responsible for deciding who is and isn’t fit to work again?
- Would you make a commitment to provide greater support through Access to Work funding to reduce the disability employment gap at the same time as committing to work not being a health outcome for those disabled people who feel unable to work.
- Would you support a truly independent Claimant deaths inquiry and possible prosecutions of previous ministers if found to be culpable.
- Would you support a legal right to Independent Living and DPAC’s National Independent Living Strategy co-produced with disabled people. https://dpac.uk.net/2019/04/a-national-independent-living-support-service/nilss-easy-read/ easy read
https://dpac.uk.net/2019/04/a-national-independent-living-support-service/
- Within London alone 66% of Personal Assistants (Care Workers) employed by disabled people come from the EU. Unless the government remove the ridiculously high earnings levels and widen out their policies on who can work in the UK after Brexit this will create a national crisis. How would you be wiling to prevent this happening?
- Would you support legal status for BSL?
- Would you adopt the UNCRPD into domestic legislation?
- Do you support Assisted Suicide?
- Do you support Universal Basic Income?
And would you actively work to bring those about if elected as leader/deputy leader.
Could you say briefly why and how you being leader/deputy leader of the Labour Party would benefit DPAC as a human rights campaign group and our disabled members?
Could you give us a couple of examples of when and how you’ve supported DPAC in the last 9 years or since you became an MP if that is a shorter time.
I have little faith in any of these candidates tbh.