In August 2020, I was diagnosed with a rare spinal condition called Cauda Equina Syndrome leaving me with paralysis from the waist down and ultimately losing the ability to walk. I am now a full time wheelchair user and political campaigner for the Bexley Liberal Democrats in East Wickham.
Every election, we are used to seeing candidates and their supporters out canvassing, delivering leaflets and participating to become the next local representative. I had never previously noticed the lack of representation in politics for disabled people, but decided to put myself forward.
The first difficulty I encountered, when speaking with local residents, was the normalised terminology often used in politics. It made some conversations uncomfortable and most times, I didn’t know how to approach the fact that I was ‘standing’ or ‘running’ as a political candidate while sitting in my wheelchair.
There were many doors I couldn’t get to due to steps or cars parked too closely to the front door on their drives. There were blocks of flats without lifts, and I had to put myself in dangerous positions in order to ‘bump’ myself up the stairs, while simultaneously pulling my wheelchair up with me. Getting back down the stairs was even scarier. There were some gateways that were so narrow that my wheelchair couldn’t fit through.
Sadly, I could not get the message across to most local residents. Certainly not as easily as more abled competitors, and this really impacted on the ability to gain potential votes. It made me question further as to why we hardly ever see a wheelchair user sat on the local Council, despite Bexley having many disabled residents, our voices are clearly not being heard or represented. The world we live in was built by abled people for abled people.
We face many barriers whether it’s accessing jobs, shops on the high street, our local parks, family and friends houses, and even using the wheelchair along many of our pavements is such a struggle and inflicts more pain on our bodies. Seeing as we cannot have a fair shot of campaigning in local elections, it’s no wonder why disabled people are often left neglected and excluded.
We can still make a difference. While out canvassing, I noticed a strong smell of gas outside a residents property in East Wickham. I knocked on their door and asked if they could smell the gas and the elderly resident said they could not.
Immediately, I contacted the gas board and within 20 minutes, SGN arrived to investigate. They could smell the gas straight away and identified a gas leak. The digging team were called out and the repair was carried out.
Sometimes, I think what would have happened if I wasn’t there that day. This is just one case from many examples where I have helped to make a difference in my local community. Had I been elected, the possibilities of helping even more local people might have been achieved.
Considering I was only able to deliver 2000 leaflets, when my competitors delivered tens of thousands more, I managed to receive 506 votes. Had I been able to physically deliver the amount my competitors did, I might have won a seat on the Council.
There needs to be more done for disabled candidates bravely putting themselves forward for local and national elections. It’s not fair that we are often left behind but also not represented.
Sean Ash
Bexley Liberal Democrat Campaigner for East Wickham, Bexley
Comments