Summary
Labour's National Policy Forum, an important consultation which informs the next Labour manifesto, has recently been made public.
It contains no mention of neurodivergence and minimal mention of disability.
ND Labour is promoting an Open Letter to protest this and to call for clear policies addressing neurodivergence and disability in the manifesto.
As members of the Labour Party and its affiliates, we are extremely disappointed that the National Policy Forum (NPF) report contains no mention of neurodiversity.
Under the Conservative government, autistic, dyslexic, ADHD and other neurodivergent people have been at the sharp end of austerity cuts and discrimination. Waiting lists for assessments are years long, health and social care services are underfunded and inadequate, and funding for neurodivergent schoolkids has been slashed.
There are millions of neurodivergent people in the UK, and millions more allies, and we expect an incoming Labour government to deliver significant and radical improvements to neurodivergent lives.
In 2021, the NPF failed to include neurodiversity in its report, and that year’s Party Conference voted to refer back the report because of this omission. By again failing to include the issue, the NPF has disregarded the democratic decision of Labour conference.
The NPF report includes an assertion that Labour will work with disabled people in forming policy, but by ignoring neurodivergent people in its own policy process, it is not implementing this commitment.
Labour was the first mainstream political party to include rights for neurodivergent people in its manifesto. With this NPF report, it is in danger of allowing itself to be overtaken by other parties, which in government have attacked the rights and services that neurodivergent people rely on.
We call on the Labour Party to include clear policies to improve rights and services for neurodivergent people in its manifesto for the forthcoming general election, and engage with its neurodivergent members in doing so.
Initial signatories:
John McDonnell MP
Micah Neale, Spelthorne CLP; Secretary, Neurodivergent Labour
Andii Bowsher, Newcastle upon Tyne East CLP
Janine Booth, Disability Officer, Lewes CLP
Joseph Redford, Tunbridge Wells CLP
Carl Howes, Uxbridge and South Ruislip CLP
Myriam Roberts, Loughborough CLP; Unison
Mary Burgess, Tunbridge Wells CLP Secretary
Luke Hoggarth, Bradford
David Waller, Fire Brigades Union
Maria Sale, Bolton South East CLP
James Collier, Regional 5 Educational & Learning Organiser, Fire Brigades Union
Alison Brown, Sheffield Heeley CLP
Hollie Codling, Fairness at Work rep, Fire Brigades Union
Kas Witana, Penistone & Stocksbridge CLP political education officer
Mike Phipps, Brent Central CLP
Kieron Thomas, Fire Brigades Union
Martin Betts, Tunbridge Wells CLP
David Habberjam, Northumberland Chair, Fire Brigades Union
Greg O’Neill, Fire Brigades Union
Stephen Wicks, Lewisham East CLP
Rob Martin, Fire Brigades Union
Gwen McNeill, RMT disabled members’ advisory committee asst secretary, STUC disabled workers’ committee member
Janine McCumiskey, Fire Brigades Union
Paul Hardman, Fire Brigades Union
Neil Bevan, Malvern Branch, West Worcestershire CLP
Tim Cooper, Nottingham East CLP Trade Union Liaison Officer
Jules Raikes, Labour member
Alison Reilly, Norwich North
Hugo Pound, Tunbridge Wells CLP
Image credit: Rathfelder, CC SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Top_table_of_the_National_Policy_Forum_2012.jpg