Briefing

London Mayoral Elections 2021


What do Disabled Londoners need from the next Mayor and Greater London Authority? ALLFIE and Inclusion London’s joint manifesto for the 2021 election sets out key asks from Disabled people and our organisations.

Polling day for the election of the next Mayor of London takes place on 6 May 2021.

This briefing outlines Disabled Londoners’ asks from the next Mayor and Greater London Authority, including on education, and covers:

1. Mayoral Manifesto 2021
2. Mayoral candidate responses

1. Mayoral Manifesto 2021

ALLFIE and Inclusion London have produced this joint Mayoral Manifesto 2021.

The manifesto outlines what Disabled Londoners want from the next Mayor and the Greater London Authority. It sets out key asks from Disabled people and our organisations, concerning issues which include adult education.

We urge the next London Mayor and the GLA to work together with Disabled people and Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations (DDPOs), to address our most pressing needs and enable equality and inclusion for Disabled Londoners.

Background

There are 1.2 million Disabled people in London, making up over 14% of the population, yet we remain one of the most marginalised and excluded groups in society. Too often politicians and policy-makers overlook our needs and the issues that matter most to us.  The Covid 19 pandemic and the response to it is the most striking recent example of this.

For the first time in the history of social policy, things are getting worse for Disabled people. It is more important than ever that our voices are heard. Disabled Londoners experience inequality in every area of our lives, including education:

  • The number of pupils with Statements or Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) has risen by 22% since 2010 across London, yet the national and London trend is that the majority of disabled pupils are being educated in segregated education provision.

The Mayor of London and Greater London Assembly have significant powers to change this situation and enable Disabled Londoners to participate equally as active citizens in the life of the capital city. This Manifesto brings together the key commitments London Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations (DDPOs) are asking all Mayoral candidates to sign up to and work with us on over the next four years.

DDPOs – organisations entirely run and controlled by Disabled people –  are uniquely placed to understand the barriers that Disabled Londoners face and the solutions to overcome them. We welcome the opportunity of the London Elections 2021 to put issues affecting Disabled Londoners firmly on the agenda and look forward to working with the next Mayor and newly elected GLA members to build a city that is equal and inclusive for all.

Inclusive Learning for All: Our demands

Our demands for the Mayor of London and Greater London Assembly, to ensure inclusive adult and training education service for all:

  1. Develop and commission London wide inclusive adult education and training opportunities that will be supported by Disabled and Deaf Peoples Organisations
  2. Develop a fully inclusive and representative apprenticeship offer for all including disabled staff in-house and in the awarding of contracts.
  3. Develop measures to address disability discrimination and the impact of intersectional injustice and inequality in education and training education services

2. Mayoral candidate responses

Mayoral Candidate Responses 2021 | Inclusion London

Ahead of the election, Inclusion London asked the Mayoral candidates six questions about how they plan to advance the rights of Deaf and Disabled Londoners:

“Based on the election results from the 2016 Mayoral Election, we approached the Labour, Conservative, Green Party, Liberal Democrat, UKIP and Women’s Equality Party candidates for London Mayor to ask them to respond to our questions. We received responses from the Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Women’s Equality Party.”

Questions:

  1. How do you plan to advance the rights of Disabled people in London?
  2. What would you do to make more suitable accessible housing available for disabled people?
  3. How would you make our communities more inclusive of Disabled people, including access to goods and services and transport?
  4. How will you tackle Disability hate crime in London?
  5. How do you plan on engaging with Deaf and Disabled people and our organisations?
  6. The Mayor of London now has responsibility for a multi-million-pound adult education budget. What are your plans for developing an adult education service that is inclusive of disabled adults within London?

Mayoral Candidate Responses:

Liberal Democrats: Luisa Porritt (word doc)

Conservatives: Shaun Bailey (pdf)

Women’s Equality Party: Mandu Reid (YouTube)