Labour looks to woo disabled voters

The Labour Party is targeting voters living with disabilities by announcing a range of pledges which it says will improve the lives of disabled people.

The proposals included measures to toughen up the law on disability hate crime; reform the Work Capability Assessment and introduce a specialist Work Support programme to provide tailored support to help disabled people get back into work; to abolish the Spare Room Subsidy or ‘Bedroom Tax; to give teachers better training on working with children with disabilities or special educational needs; to give mental health the same priority as physical health on the NHSl and to invite disabled people to sit on a governmental committee that develops disability policy.

Labour has published ONS figures which show the key role disabled people will play in deciding the outcome of the 2015 General Election.

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Rachel Reeves, Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said: “Too many disabled people feel let down by the Tories, left behind by the recovery and left out of public life.

“The Tories’ have failed to support disabled people back into work, their Work Capability Assessment has caused stress and anxiety, and their Bedroom Tax has pushed disabled people into debt. Meanwhile disability hate-crime is on the increase.

“Labour has a better plan for disabled people. We have listened to disabled people and this manifesto outlines our commitment to their full inclusion and participation in all aspects of our society. We will scrap the Bedroom Tax, making hundreds of thousands of disabled

people better off.

“We will reform the Work Capability Assessment and give disabled people the right support to get back into work. And we will give disabled people a greater voice in public life, and a greater role in shaping the policies that affect them.”

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