Disability rights campaigner Jane Campbell: ‘In the Lords, I’m still a radical activi
Disability rights campaigner Jane Campbell: ‘In the Lords, I’m still a radical activist’ | Saba Salman | Society | The Guardian
lady Campbell’s single-mindedness has made her one of the most influential figures in UK disability rights, from her origins as a grassroots activist stopping traffic by parking her wheelchair on London’s Westminster Bridge Road, to her current role as a crossbench peer.
Jane Campbell’s work now involves more debate than demonstration. As well as the campaign to save the £320m ILF programme that funds 18,000 disabled people’s community-based care, which was axed last week, she has spoken in the Lords about the devastating impact of austerity on disabled people ahead of the £12bn of welfare cuts expected to be outlined in Wednesday’s budget. She has also argued against the assisted dying bill, saying the proposal devalues disabled people’s lives.
This week, in recognition of her pioneering equality work, social justice thinktank the Bevan Foundation honoured her with a lifetime achievement award.
Her long-term game plan means she is remarkably sanguine about the future. Despite welfare reforms, “it is not all doom and gloom”, she says. “You cannot put the genie back in the bottle; Pandora’s box is open and it will never be closed – we can never go back.” The ILF defeat has not dampened her campaigning zeal. “I do what I do because I am liberated and emancipated,” she says. “I have rights, I feel I have power. I’m not done yet.”
Disability rights campaigner Jane Campbell: ‘In the Lords, I’m still a radical activist’ | Saba Salman | Society | The Guardian
lady Campbell’s single-mindedness has made her one of the most influential figures in UK disability rights, from her origins as a grassroots activist stopping traffic by parking her wheelchair on London’s Westminster Bridge Road, to her current role as a crossbench peer.
Jane Campbell’s work now involves more debate than demonstration. As well as the campaign to save the £320m ILF programme that funds 18,000 disabled people’s community-based care, which was axed last week, she has spoken in the Lords about the devastating impact of austerity on disabled people ahead of the £12bn of welfare cuts expected to be outlined in Wednesday’s budget. She has also argued against the assisted dying bill, saying the proposal devalues disabled people’s lives.
This week, in recognition of her pioneering equality work, social justice thinktank the Bevan Foundation honoured her with a lifetime achievement award.
Her long-term game plan means she is remarkably sanguine about the future. Despite welfare reforms, “it is not all doom and gloom”, she says. “You cannot put the genie back in the bottle; Pandora’s box is open and it will never be closed – we can never go back.” The ILF defeat has not dampened her campaigning zeal. “I do what I do because I am liberated and emancipated,” she says. “I have rights, I feel I have power. I’m not done yet.”