'I feel demonised by politicians for having a disability'
Sophie Brudenall told the BBC she often felt "demonised" by political debates about getting disabled people into work.
- Published
With the election now just two weeks away, BBC South has been continuing to hear about the issues that matter to you through Your Voice, Your Vote.
So far more than a thousand people have told us what will help decide who they choose to form the next government.
Those with disabilities often say they are concerned by the emphasis in some quarters on cutting the benefits bill.
Sophie Brudenall, aged 24 and from Slough, got in touch to say she has been left feeling "demonised".
"I'm looking for someone who's just going to care about people with disabilities, not forcing us into jobs we can't do," she said.
Now studying for a degree in game design and creative writing at Brunel University in West London, Sophie said she had previously been pushed towards jobs like HGV driving, despite being registered visually impaired since 2012.
Eye conditions including glaucoma mean Sophie Brudenall is best at jobs that use tactile skills
She has glaucoma, in which damage to the optic nerve has affected her peripheral vision, as well as aniridia, a condition where people have no iris resulting in light sensitivity.
Sophie says watching the political debates on TV, she has rarely heard the politicians talking about disabilities.
With all the manifestoes now published she says too often the emphasis appears to be on cutting the costs to the taxpayer of benefits, including the Personal Independence Payment, which is supposed to help people like her with the additional costs of living with their disabilities.
Disabled issues were "rarely mentioned" in the political debates, Sophie says
What the parties say
The Liberal Democrats say the presumption would be that every disabled person has the right to work from home. They also want a targeted strategy to support disabled people into work
The Greens want pay gap legislation to ensure disabled people are paid fairly. They also want to ensure that all disabled workers have the in-job support they need.
Labour policies include tackling the backlog of Access to Work claims, and the party says they believe the Work Capability Assessment is not working and needs to be reformed or replaced.
Reform says it will ensure "those who can work do work" and that Personal Independence Payment and Work Capability Assessment should be face-to-face.
The Conservatives say they will reform disability benefits so they are better targeted and reflect people’s genuine needs, and will stop PIP claims from rising unsustainably.
Paralympic sport should create a "positive narrative" for politicians considering disability, says a charity
Charity the Business Disability Forum has pointed out the election is taking place shortly before the Paralympics, which will see athletes with disabilities converging on Paris.
Politicians should see the games as a role model for how they view disability, according to the organisation's chief executive, Diane Lightfoot.
"What we need to see from any future government is a much more positive narrative around talent and opportunity," she said.
"We saw that in London 2012. It's a Paralympic year. We have an opportunity to do that again."
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