Disabled Voters 'Could Swing Election'

The balance of power in this year's general election could rest on the votes of almost a-million disabled people in Scotland.

That's according to Disability Agenda Scotland, who say political parties need to promise real change for disabled voters to secure their votes.

They want issues like accessible transport and disibility benefits to be tackled.

Their manifesto, 'A Million Votes Count: Our Vision for an Equal Future', outlines ten key steps that DAS insists a new Westminster government must take to ensure equality for the one million disabled voters and their families in Scotland.

The proposals - developed by service-users across all six DAS member organisations - will be debated at a fully accessible election hustings event in Glasgow on April 27th, chaired by broadcaster Shereen Nanjiani. People with a range of disabilities will question representatives from the main political parties.

DAS policy group chair Jan Savage said:

"The Scottish vote is being courted by all parties in this general election.  In such a tight general election race, Scotland's one million disabled people and their families will have a crucial impact on the outcome at Westminster. Their votes matter and political parties need to commit to deliver real change to get those votes.

"Since the last general election, households with disabled adults and children have experienced a reduction of £1,900 per year in annual income - bad enough, but even more shocking when you know that this is three times the reduction experienced by non-disabled households.

"We are calling on all parties to commit to our ten key steps to deliver real change for disabled people in areas such as work, welfare, transport and inclusive communication. These are the areas where the government is failing to deliver for disabled people to be full members of society."