Here's a quote about the first ever Minister for Disabled People. It sounds to me like he saw a great need for his role.
"Affected by his father's experience, Morris [Alfred Morris, Baron Morris of Manchester] campaigned on behalf of the disabled; his father had suffered a long decline in health and eventual death arising from gassing during World War I.[2] After his father's death, Morris's mother was not entitled to a war widow's pension.[3] Forty years later, Morris himself put the matter right by changing the law affecting armed forces pensions when he became Minister for the Disabled.
In 1970 he successfully introduced the Chronically Sick & Disabled Persons Act which was the first in the world to recognise and give rights to people with disabilities.[4] In 1974 he became the first Minister for the Disabled anywhere in the world.[3][5] In 1991 he introduced a Civil Rights (Disabled Persons) Bill and he has led campaigns on Gulf War Syndrome.[1]" (Wikipedia)"
Today, the position is filled by Maria Miller.At this point in history, all of the main sickness and disability benefits are being abolished and replaced with new, more limited, schemes. Sick and disabled people have shown considerable opposition to these plans.
There has been a vote of no confidence in Maria Miller, carried at the Hardest Hit march on 11th May. This was the largest ever protest of sick and disabled people in UK history. Now, there are calls all over the internet for a vote of no confidence in Ms Miller in Parliament.
Sick and disabled people are about to lose 9.2 Billion in support from a 16 billion budget.
Maria Miller has not supported us, she has not consulted us, she has not replied to us and she does not speak for us.
Not only that, but she misrepresents us! The very people she is elected and salaried to represent. http://fullfact.org/search/node/maria%20miller She uses false statistics and claims that we support her government's plans. Recently she claimed that more people claim higher rate DLA for alcoholism than blindness. Not only was she wrong, but the implications of "worthy" and "unworthy" disability from a minister who's job should be to do just the opposite is shocking.
But this article really makes clear just how unworthy of her job Maria Miller is.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/06/20/minister-defends-reform-of-disability-benefits-91466-28905798/#.Tf8Q-L8tyxY;twitter
The part that made me write this blog post is this :
"Disabilities Minister Maria Miller, pictured, said a consultation on the proposed changes, which attracted more that 5,000 responses, had shown support for reform of DLA.
She said: “There’s now a growing view that reform is needed, whether it’s from the Government or from the opposition or from leading disability groups."
She said: “There’s now a growing view that reform is needed, whether it’s from the Government or from the opposition or from leading disability groups."
The minister claims that this was "one of the most successful consultations of its kind". Yes it was. Because groups like the Broken of Britain asked thousands of sick and disabled people what they thought and spent months running campaigns to involve people in the consultation. Over 5000 people did indeed respond and they were overwhelmingly opposed to the proposals or elements within them. A typical consultation might have 50 or 60 responses. This brilliant summary by Rhydian Fon-James from the Broken of Britain shows clearly that the government response to the "consultations" was a complete and utter whitewash.
None of the legitimate concerns were addressed. This woman is not a Minister for Disabled People and does nothing to speak for us in Parliament. She appears to be no more than a Minister for Propaganda and I'd like to know why we pay her a salary at all?
Mr Cameron I can save you a little deficit. Cut the Minister for Disabled People. I can assure you that none of us will notice at all.
Actually that's not true. Our lives would improve without her constant ignorance displayed in both the press and in Parliament.
