‘Farcical disabled minister Tory U-turn exhibits what we knew – they do not care’

To clarify what has occurred with the minister for disabled individuals position within the final 24 hours, let me provide you with an thought of how my day went down yesterday.

Late Wednesday night time, I filed my unique column on how we didn’t have a minister after Rishi Sunak made ‘stab vest’ Tom Pursglove the primary Minister for Legal Migration. Rolling into Thursday morning, we nonetheless had no information. Then come 1pm yesterday, Number 10 confirmed to ITV that the position could be scrapped and the duties given to a different minister.

So that was that, lastly affirmation of what we already knew – the Tories don’t care about us. Edit the piece, change it to affirmation of how a lot they hate us, end work for Christmas – good one Rach. But not for lengthy.

The non-announcement prompted absolute uproar with everybody from disabled campaigners and charities, to the opposition and even Paralympians condemning the choice. So think about everybody’s shock – and to be trustworthy simply plain confusion – when at 4pm the DWP introduced by way of Twitter that the federal government had appointed Mims Davies to the job.

Or so we thought. Remember that is the Tories we’re speaking about so it’s by no means the excellent news we hoped for. Not solely was the obvious U-turn brushed underneath the carpet, however the announcement additionally missed out on the truth that Davies isn’t a minister of state – she’s a parliamentary undersecretary, which means the position has been downgraded once more. She additionally – in accordance with her biography on X – nonetheless engaged on social mobility (her earlier DWP position) and is the Youth Police Police and Crime Commissioner.

So that’s the lives of 14 million individuals on high of two different jobs – oh and let’s not neglect her constituency. Nothing says “you will continue to see a government showing strong support for disabled people and disabled issues” like giving our illustration to somebody who already has three jobs.

Now I can’t probably speculate – the plan may effectively have been to disclaim within the morning after which announce within the afternoon – however to me, this appears just like the Tories weren’t anticipating disabled individuals to lift our voices so loudly and had no selection however to attempt to appease us.

So onto Mims. What will she be like as “minister” (undersecretary) for disabled individuals? Well, in accordance with her social media, she’s passionate in regards to the position as a result of her dad lived with a head damage for greater than 25 years and that meant her household have been on advantages. “Be assured I get it” she posted.

However, this doesn’t clarify why she has voted in opposition to paying greater advantages over an extended interval for these unable to work as a result of sickness or incapacity not as soon as, not twice however 10 instances. She additionally voted for a discount in welfare spending (cuts) a whopping 27 instances.

The solely different factor I learn about Mims Davies is that her cockapoo TJ is that this yr’s Westminister Dog of the Year, so to cite considered one of my social media “fans”, “I like your dog, not you though, a sanctimonious ghoul”.

The Tories are attempting desperately to cling on to voters and their energy by making immigration the precedence and turning individuals even additional in opposition to those that battle probably the most, whereas exhibiting simply how a lot thought they offer minorities like disabled individuals.

After 13 years of the Tories making life scarier, tougher and, for a lot of, simply plain unliveable, disabled individuals deserve a minister with our greatest pursuits at coronary heart. We deserve plans to guard us this winter and a advantages system that helps us and doesn’t at instances appear to be it’s out to make us the enemy – both via spending tens of millions on stopping claims to marketing campaign to “Crackdown” on workshy profit shirkers”.

We deserve a authorities and media that doesn’t vilify us and switch the general public in opposition to us to the purpose the place we’re all known as scroungers and fakers if we get our nails achieved or have iPhones. Disabled individuals are already on our knees on the mercy of the Tories, we deserve somebody who will combat for us – not the scraps of a failing authorities.