UK’s Tories plan to help people with disabilities join Parliament
January 15th, 2010From the [UK] Guardian:
The UK’s Conservative Party is planning a £1m fund to help people with disabilities become members of Parliament. The effort by the Tories is aimed at encouraging the UK government to be more representative of the people it serves. One in five people in Great Britain has a disability, but only five percent of members of parliament are “registered disabled.”
Funds would be used to support people who wish to become MPs, underwriting the costs of adapting premises to make them accessible, sign language interpreters, specialized equipment, travel and support workers.
Abigail Lock, head of campaigns at the disability charity Scope, said: “We know many people want to be candidates and that money has been a barrier to that. Campaigning is prohibitively expensive so we welcome this move to break down those barriers.”
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