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| All-disabled shortlists: that’s the way to make politics truly representative | All-disabled shortlists: that’s the way to make politics truly representative |
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| Only 1% of MPs are disabled, despite one in five of the population having a disability. The way to address this is simple• Alice Kirby is an activist and disability rights campaigner | |
| Thu 13 Jul 2017 11.27 BST | |
| Last modified on Tue 18 Jul 2017 12.08 BST | |
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| Stephen Lloyd made history in the general election by becoming the first person selected from an all-disabled shortlist to win a seat. In fact, the shortlist, which was run last year by the Liberal Democrats in Eastbourne, East Sussex, in anticipation of a snap election, was the very first of its kind to be used by any party. | Stephen Lloyd made history in the general election by becoming the first person selected from an all-disabled shortlist to win a seat. In fact, the shortlist, which was run last year by the Liberal Democrats in Eastbourne, East Sussex, in anticipation of a snap election, was the very first of its kind to be used by any party. |
| The policy has been inspired by all-women shortlists. In designated constituencies, parties select who will stand from a shortlist made up of only disabled people, the aim being to increase the number of disabled MPs. This process seeks to remove the prejudicial attitudes and implicit biases that prevent disabled people from being selected or from even putting themselves forward in the first place. | The policy has been inspired by all-women shortlists. In designated constituencies, parties select who will stand from a shortlist made up of only disabled people, the aim being to increase the number of disabled MPs. This process seeks to remove the prejudicial attitudes and implicit biases that prevent disabled people from being selected or from even putting themselves forward in the first place. |
| It’s down to each party to decide how they choose candidates, and Jeremy Corbyn signalled that he would be willing to support all-disabled shortlists last year. So why do we need them? While there are no official figures, there are currently only six MPs who have publicly identified themselves as disabled (three of whom were only elected a few weeks back). That’s around 1% of MPs, while 18% of the working-age population are disabled, and overall one in five of us are. That means we need another 124 disabled MPs for the house to be truly representative, and that won’t happen in my lifetime without all-disabled shortlists. | It’s down to each party to decide how they choose candidates, and Jeremy Corbyn signalled that he would be willing to support all-disabled shortlists last year. So why do we need them? While there are no official figures, there are currently only six MPs who have publicly identified themselves as disabled (three of whom were only elected a few weeks back). That’s around 1% of MPs, while 18% of the working-age population are disabled, and overall one in five of us are. That means we need another 124 disabled MPs for the house to be truly representative, and that won’t happen in my lifetime without all-disabled shortlists. |
| Most support the need for more diversity, for the country to be represented by people who better reflect how society looks. And we can see the first fruits of that, with this election bringing about the most diverse intake of MPs the house has ever seen. But despite this, shortlisting in this way remains as controversial today as when Labour introduced all-women shortlists back in the 1990s. | Most support the need for more diversity, for the country to be represented by people who better reflect how society looks. And we can see the first fruits of that, with this election bringing about the most diverse intake of MPs the house has ever seen. But despite this, shortlisting in this way remains as controversial today as when Labour introduced all-women shortlists back in the 1990s. |
| Most of the arguments against shortlists are rooted in discrimination. Some say the policy creates an “easy” route to being selected to run for office. But this implies that a shortlist consisting of only disabled people or women is a shortlist that only consists of weak candidates. Another argument put forward is that the best person for the job wouldn’t be selected because people would be picked simply because they were disabled. But “disabled” is not a synonym for “incompetent”, “incapable” or “unskilled”. The idea that, just for the sake of it, a party would select a cohort of disabled people who wouldn’t make for good politicians is absurd. Here we are choosing the best person for the job; it’s just that the people being picked are disabled. | Most of the arguments against shortlists are rooted in discrimination. Some say the policy creates an “easy” route to being selected to run for office. But this implies that a shortlist consisting of only disabled people or women is a shortlist that only consists of weak candidates. Another argument put forward is that the best person for the job wouldn’t be selected because people would be picked simply because they were disabled. But “disabled” is not a synonym for “incompetent”, “incapable” or “unskilled”. The idea that, just for the sake of it, a party would select a cohort of disabled people who wouldn’t make for good politicians is absurd. Here we are choosing the best person for the job; it’s just that the people being picked are disabled. |
| Look at this year’s intake, for example. Lloyd reclaimed the seat he’d held between 2010 and 2015 from the Tories, and two disabled candidates gained seats for Labour. Jared O’Mara became Sheffield Hallam’s first ever Labour MP (notably he took the seat from Nick Clegg) and Marsha de Cordova gained Battersea from the Tories. They are both determined and accomplished politicians. | Look at this year’s intake, for example. Lloyd reclaimed the seat he’d held between 2010 and 2015 from the Tories, and two disabled candidates gained seats for Labour. Jared O’Mara became Sheffield Hallam’s first ever Labour MP (notably he took the seat from Nick Clegg) and Marsha de Cordova gained Battersea from the Tories. They are both determined and accomplished politicians. |
| Some argue that affirmative action is an act of discrimination against abled people. Abled people are already overwhelmingly over-represented in the Commons – it’s glaringly obvious they aren’t at a disadvantage. It’s also worth noting that all-disabled shortlists are legal. The same law that attempts to protect us from discrimination also allows for selective shortlists because it recognises that disabled people are already at a significant disadvantage because of attitudes towards us. | Some argue that affirmative action is an act of discrimination against abled people. Abled people are already overwhelmingly over-represented in the Commons – it’s glaringly obvious they aren’t at a disadvantage. It’s also worth noting that all-disabled shortlists are legal. The same law that attempts to protect us from discrimination also allows for selective shortlists because it recognises that disabled people are already at a significant disadvantage because of attitudes towards us. |
| The idea that meritocracy exists sells us a false promise, because we’re told that despite being disabled, if we’re the best person for the job we’ll get it, and that just isn’t true. There are of course disabled people who cannot work, but those who can come up against barrier after barrier created by society, by people’s attitudes, by discrimination, and not by our conditions. We’re judged before we even get our foot through the door. | The idea that meritocracy exists sells us a false promise, because we’re told that despite being disabled, if we’re the best person for the job we’ll get it, and that just isn’t true. There are of course disabled people who cannot work, but those who can come up against barrier after barrier created by society, by people’s attitudes, by discrimination, and not by our conditions. We’re judged before we even get our foot through the door. |
| Selective shortlisting has always existed, because historically so many institutions have been made up entirely of privileged people who aren’t minorities. It’s miraculous that rich, white, abled blokes always seem to be the best people for the job. Rarely do we ask how or why they were selected, or if they’re qualified. You need only look at some MPs to know that not all hold their positions through merit alone. | Selective shortlisting has always existed, because historically so many institutions have been made up entirely of privileged people who aren’t minorities. It’s miraculous that rich, white, abled blokes always seem to be the best people for the job. Rarely do we ask how or why they were selected, or if they’re qualified. You need only look at some MPs to know that not all hold their positions through merit alone. |
| The knock-on effect of selective shortlists cannot be underestimated. More women than ever have been selected since they were introduced (and not only in seats where they are used and not only by parties who use them), because they’ve brought about a cultural change. It’s meant more women feel confident putting themselves forward for selection and more parties have felt confident in selecting women. | The knock-on effect of selective shortlists cannot be underestimated. More women than ever have been selected since they were introduced (and not only in seats where they are used and not only by parties who use them), because they’ve brought about a cultural change. It’s meant more women feel confident putting themselves forward for selection and more parties have felt confident in selecting women. |
| We could see the same change should all-disabled shortlists be more widespread. We could see MPs be truly representative of the UK’s biggest minority group. Just as we need women’s voices to be heard in parliament, we need disabled voices to be heard too. It’s essential that we have people creating and voting on policies who truly understand the barriers which we face. | We could see the same change should all-disabled shortlists be more widespread. We could see MPs be truly representative of the UK’s biggest minority group. Just as we need women’s voices to be heard in parliament, we need disabled voices to be heard too. It’s essential that we have people creating and voting on policies who truly understand the barriers which we face. |
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| General election 2017 | |
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