As Theresa May was dancing around the stage at the Conservative Party conference, things were much more serious outside. Because disabled people were protesting about what the UN has called “grave” and “systematic” human rights violations on her party’s watch.
“Tory Cuts Kill”
Campaign group Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) staged a protest in Birmingham on Wednesday 3 October. The demo was supported by people on Twitter. They used the hashtags #ToryCutsKill and #HostileEnvironment. The protest was for what DPAC said were the:
thousands of disabled people [that] have been killed by the [Tories’] policies and mindless cruelty.
In short, people were raising awareness of what the UN has called a “human catastrophe”:
Trams in Birmingham halt for disability protest. #ToryCutsKill pic.twitter.com/ptKy47QEXx
— Emma Rawlings Smith (@Geography_Emma) 3 октября 2018 г.
#ToryCutsKill #HostileEnvironment #CPC18
DPAC doing what they do best.@paulapeters2 @Dis_PPL_Protest @UniteCommSuffk pic.twitter.com/JqdIDV0EYL— martin tolley (@TolleyM) 3 октября 2018 г.
The fact that the PM felt she could start her speech by strutting around to Dancing Queen shows her party’s arrogance. Because as The Canary has documented, disabled people have been subject to what the UN has called “grave” and “systematic” violations of their human rights. The chair of one UN committee even called the situation a “human catastrophe”.
Claimants of Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) welfare have suffered numerous benefit cuts, the flawed Work Capability Assessment, and the closure of the Independent Living Fund. But most critically, thousands and thousands of people have died on the DWP’s watch.
A dancing clown
DPAC’s continued pressure on the government shows it will not silence disabled and sick people. And a ‘dancing clown’ posing as the PM won’t, either.