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020514 Spring Newsletter V4

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020514 Spring Newsletter V4 LDDA NEWS LDDA wishes to thank LDDA's website MIDSHIRE for their delivered by support during 2013-14 Prater Raines Ltd 2 Editorial - BOB’S BIT As a member of the Welsh Campaigns and Contents Candidates Committee I am looking forward the 1 Front Cover European elections this May. 2 Editorial - BOB’S BIT Westminster next year, Welsh Assembly 2016 3 The Thoughts of Chairman Phil and local government in 2017 gives us three 4-5 Grants for Disabled Candidates years of continuous campaigning. 6-7 Liz Lynne A Champion for Disability IN Europe In Wales local government elections are all held on the same date every 4 or 5 years. I really miss 8 Biopic: Liz Lynne the borough elections in thirds with the county 9 Biopic: Catherine Bearder elections in the fourth year that I cut my teeth on 10 Biopic: Andrew Duff back in Woking in 1985. 11 Stammering So this edition concentrates on Disability and the 12 Inspiration: Alan Bullion European elections. 13 Dyspraxia 14 Biopic: Jacqueline Bell 15 Biopic: Linda Jack 16-17 Membership Form 18 19 20 Printed Published and Promoted on behalf of LDDA by Bob Barton, Glan Alyn Llanferres Road Llanarmon-yn-Iâl Mold. CH7 4QD 4 Disabled people who want to stand for election as a councillor or MP, including the 2015 General Election, can benefit from two separate but closely related initiatives to access grant schemes which help cover any additional costs they may face. The Government Equalities Office set up the Access to Elected Office Fund in 2012. This is open to any disabled potential candidate. A new mentoring scheme, run and for Liberal Democrats, has also recently been launched. As a result, real practical and financial support is now available to promote more council and Parliamentary candidates with disabilities with mentoring support and real money grants. These have been approved by the Electoral Commission as not encroaching on election expenses rules and to help overcome the particular physical and mental barriers that inhibit people with disabilities from standing for election. Mentoring is a very important part of encouraging and supporting disabled individuals to stand for public office. A mentoring contract won by the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors (ALDC) from the Local Government Association (LGA) is being delivered by Steve Hitchins as an extension of the Be a Councillor programme. Steve told us: ‘There are three critical elements to this project. I will be working with ALDC, the LGA and the Liberal Democrat Disability Association (LDDA) to disperse the information as widely as we can. Unless we have candidates or people who are thinking about being candidates we cannot take full advantage of this programme.’ Those who apply and are put on the fast track programme will receive 1:1 mentoring, probably from a local Lib Dem councillor or former councillor, to guide such candidates think through both how they will work as a councillor and as a candidate in both selection and the campaign. Mentors are paid at the LGA peer rate of £303 per day for up to four days work. This second point is important because part of the mentor's work will include assisting such candidates to apply for a grant from the Access to Elected Office Fund. Although most grants are in the region of £500, some have been for substantial funds. They can provide very practical support such as signers, wheelchair assistants and anything likely to assist candidates overcoming physical and mental barriers that inhibit electoral success. This is a new area for Liberal Democrats and we have much to learn but that shouldn't deter any with disabilities coming forward. Lib Dems are looking for a handful of candidates already selected in target seats for 2014 but plan a more ambitious programme for 2015. Please note the mentoring programme is only for candidates with disabilities in winnable seats at the moment. If this includes you please let Steve know. [email protected] www.disabilitylibdems.org.uk 5 Direct financial support is also available for potential candidates through the Access to Elected Office Fund. The Fund not only has been extended by an extra 12 months to the end of March 2015 but also has had the upper limit doubled to £40,000 per calendar year. More details about this Access to Elected Office Fund can be found on: http://www.libdems.org.uk/financial_support_for_disabled_election_candidates_extended_to_2015 These quotes are also on this page: Michael MacDonald, fund applicant and Liberal Democrat candidate in the Priory ward for Trafford Council’s 2014 local elections, said: ‘Having previously stood for election, I knew that the support provided by the Fund was much needed for disabled candidates. The personal cost of standing for election for me was very high, as I needed to pay for British Sign Language translators, and this created a huge barrier to me participating fully in the process. Knowing that I now have access to this support at no personal cost to me is such a relief. Knowing that I can get the support I need, when I need it, it has filled me with confidence and rebuilt my enthusiasm for politics.’ Phil Stevens, Chair of the Liberal Democrat Disability Association, added: ‘The Liberal Democrat Disability Association welcomes the news that the Fund is to be extended for a further year. We believe that disabled people should be fairly represented at all political levels, and this is an important step towards achieving an electorate which represents the needs of all society – including disabled people. We hope that due to the assistance Access to Elected Office can afford disabled people, more of our members and potential disabled candidates across the country will be able to stand in the 2015 local and UK parliament elections. The increase in upper grant limit from £20,000 to £40,000 is fantastic news for those disabled candidates who face significant costs, such as the cost of employing British Sign Language interpreters or note takers.’ The Fund is independently administered by Digital Outreach Ltd (Convey) on behalf of the DCMS. For more information or to apply for a grant, visit the Fund’s website: https://www.access-to-elected-office-fund.org.uk/about-the-fund/ You can also read Michael MacDonald’s full case study, plus a collection of stories from other disabled people in political life, including Baroness Sal Brinton, David Buxton and Greg Judge - see: http://www.access-to-elected-office-fund.org.uk/about-the-fund/case-studies/michael-andrew-macdonald/ http://www.access-to-elected-office-fund.org.uk/about-the-fund/case-studies/baroness-brinton/ http://www.access-to-elected-office-fund.org.uk/about-the-fund/case-studies/councillor-david-buxton/ http://www.access-to-elected-office-fund.org.uk/about-the-fund/case-studies/greg-judge/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/149700901745741/ 6 1 in 6 people in the UK are disabled (10.6 million) The average constituency has 15,000 disabled voters ... & their families and friends who are ALSO voters Source: Scope’s General Election Manifesto 2010 Whose Vote Are You Missing? The European Disability Forum goes even further by stating that there are: 80 million Europeans with disabilities. This is over 15% of the whole population. One in four Europeans has a family member with a disability. http://www.edf-feph.org/Page_Generale.asp?DocID=12534&id=1&langue=EN So how will these disabled voters, their families, carers and friends cast their votes in May? How well prepared on vote winning/losing disability issues are Liberal Democrat candidates and campaigners? MEPs have been strong supporters of LDDA. Actions speak louder than words. Liz Lynne has been a longstanding campaigner for the rights of disabled people. Firstly as a Westminster MP then as an MEP and she has not stopped since she stepped down in 2012. Liz was President of the LDDA until 2013. When Liz was the MP for Rochdale she was heavily involved in the drafting and amending the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995. Liz was the European Parliament's rapporteur for the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (CESA) which in 2001 set out in the Communication from the Commission entitled ‘Towards a barrier-free Europe for people with disabilities’, which proposed the European Year of People with Disabilities 2003. The main purpose of the Year was to drive forward the political agenda for full integration of people with disabilities. The official website opened with: ‘2003 is the European Year of People with Disabilities. The year will drive progress towards achieving equal rights for people with disabilities. Across Europe attention will be focused on the many areas of European society where barriers and discrimination still exist for the one in ten Europeans with a disability. We have very high expectations for concrete outcomes of 2003: action at national level to prevent discrimination, new initiatives and new and stronger alliances. People with disabilities should be at the centre of the European Year, which is about raising awareness of the rights of disabled people to full equality and participation in all areas. It is about tackling barriers that people with disabilities face, wherever they occur. The European Year is also about raising awareness that disability is an issue of concern to all of us.’ www.disabilitylibdems.org.uk 7 Activities and events took place throughout Europe. An information and promotion campaign with the slogan ‘Get on board’ was established to emphasise the participative nature of the EYPD. A campaign bus was present at 211 events in 181 towns and cities during 2003. The European Parliament hosted a Disabled People's Parliament Event in November 2003 in Brussels.
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