As spring started making fleeting appearances this year, I decided to put together a voting guide for the UK neurodivergent community, to advise ahead of the upcoming General Election. We make up 15-20% of the population – if considered an ethnic group, we’d be the second largest in England and Wales.
The lived experience of neurodivergent people (or “NDs”) is now spoken about more than ever – but do the community’s calls for recognition, respect and rights stand a chance of being heard by those in power?
My attempts at correspondence have shown that seemingly, the answer is no.
I wrote to major political parties and asked for their take on this final frontier of civil rights. Each email was sent to the party’s press/media team on the same day, and the text of it can be downloaded here. I subsequently reached out to their official accounts on X/Twitter. I have received no replies from representatives of any party. But I believe this article is still worthwhile, so I have pieced together what I can from the contacted parties’ manifestos.
(You’ll notice that in the interests of impartiality, I have limited my questions and my findings to be solely about policy, human rights and an implementation plan as pertains to neurodivergent people, but many other areas of a government’s manifesto could have a disproportionate impact on NDs. For example, we are far more likely to identify under the LGBT+ umbrella. We also often face poverty due to lack of employment – and those of us who are employed are prone to discrimination in the workplace, which can lead to worsening mental and physical health outcomes. Readers of this guide should exercise their own due diligence when deciding who to vote for, particularly if it’ll be your first time voting.)
Conservative Party
In their education policies, the Conservative Party’s manifesto states: “We will transform education for children with special educational needs, ending the postcode lottery of support by delivering 60,000 more school places and a further 15 new free schools for children with special educational needs. Instead of penalising independent special schools by taxing them, we will back them because we believe in the right of parents to choose the best education for their child.”
It adds, “We will continue to modernise autism and learning disability services”.
British Sign Language (BSL) and easy read versions of the Conservative Party’s manifesto are available.
Labour Party
The Labour Party says in its manifesto’s section on healthcare, “Mental health legislation is also woefully out of date. The treatment of people with autism and learning difficulties is a disgrace… Labour will modernise legislation to give patients greater choice, autonomy, enhanced rights and support, and ensure everyone is treated with dignity and respect throughout treatment.”
On education, Labour says: “Too often our education and care systems do not meet the needs of all children, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Labour will take a community-wide approach, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs. We will make sure admissions decisions account for the needs of
communities and require all schools to co-operate with their local authority on school admissions, SEND inclusion, and place planning.”
A British Sign Language (BSL) version of the Labour Party’s manifesto is available.
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats say they will “Improve diversity in the workplace and public life by… Providing additional support and advice to employers on neurodiversity in the
workplace, and developing a cross-government strategy to tackle all aspects of
discrimination faced by neurodiverse children and adults.”
They also say they’ll “Improve early access to mental health services by… Ending inappropriate and costly inpatient placements for people with learning
disabilities and autism.”
On education, the LibDems pledge to: “Tackle the crisis in special educational needs provision, and help to end the postcode lottery in provision, by: Giving local authorities extra funding to reduce the amount that schools pay towards the cost of a child’s Education, Health and Care Plan. Establishing a new National Body for SEND to fund support for children with very high needs.
“Give local authorities with responsibility for education the powers and resources
to act as Strategic Education Authorities for their area, including responsibility
for places planning, exclusions, administering admissions including in-year
admissions, and SEND functions.”
A British Sign Language (BSL) version of the Liberal Democrats’ manifesto is available.
Reform UK
Reform UK makes no mention of neurodiversity or special educational needs in its manifesto.
Green Party
The Green Party says, “We will ensure that neurodivergent children
and those with special needs are adequately supported, including in the school system, to live rich and fulfilling lives.”
Later it adds: “Green MPs will push for £5bn to be invested in special needs (SEND) provision within mainstream schools. This means that all schools will have fully accessible buildings and specially trained teachers, and local councils will have the funds to properly support SEND students at school and in getting to school.”
An easy read version of the Green Party’s manifesto is available.
Scottish National Party (SNP)
The Scottish National Party makes no mention of neurodiversity or special educational needs in its manifesto.
A British Sign Language (BSL) version of the Scottish National Party’s manifesto is available.
Scottish Greens
The Scottish Greens make no mention of neurodiversity or special educational needs in their manifesto.
Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru’s manifesto says, “Waiting lists for neurodiversity diagnoses are far too long, meaning that children and young people fail to get the proper support they need. Plaid Cymru would ensure that support was made available as soon as an individual presents
themselves as neurodiverse, whether this be through referral or self-referral. This support will be monitored and tailored to respond to the individual’s need as the diagnosis process progresses.”
When it comes to neurodivergents in prison, Plaid Cymru says: “We will provide better support for people with ADHD transitioning throughout the prison system, and upon leaving. This includes training for
all prison staff in ADHD awareness and appropriate medication care plans, and ensure access to safe housing, tailored with local mental health and probation support.”
British Sign Language (BSL) and easy read versions of Plaid Cymru’s manifesto are available.
I should add here: due to simple human error, I did not contact Plaid Cymru in my initial round of emails – this is probably related to the fact that I’ve never lived in Wales. I extend my apologies; should any representative of Plaid Cymru wish to have an interview with me about neurodivergent rights, they’d be very welcome.
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
The Democratic Unionist Party claim they have “announced the biggest step change
to education planning for a generation, with an ambitious and far-reaching programme of investment in facilities for children with special educational needs, which will transform the education and lives of our most vulnerable children and their families”.
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin’s manifesto says: “We want to increase productivity and opportunities for skills and training, regional balance in investment and job opportunities, accessible and affordable childcare – including for those with Special Educational Needs”.
Alliance Party
The Alliance Party makes no mention of neurodiversity or special educational needs in its manifesto.
Comment
Well, there you have it. Given the coverage that neurodiversity is slowly starting to get in mainstream media, I am surprised that most parties have not seized the opportunity to expand on how they would make life better for 15-20% of the UK population. Indeed, four of them didn’t think this was an issue worth mentioning. Of course, words are cheap, and politicians of all stripes tend to lie or conveniently ‘forget’ to do things.
A common refrain used throughout the public and private sectors is that there needs to be ‘awareness’ of neurodiversity. Well, we’ve already got that. The government and opposition are aware of the dire circumstances many NDs find themselves in. What we need is robust legal protection, so that teachers, employers and healthcare staff cannot ride roughshod over the Equality Act and get away with it. We need organisations large and small to have a firm grounding in the present day when it comes to thinking about neurodivergence. We need courageous action taken when we highlight how conversion therapy is not only legal but openly promoted for autistic people under an ‘evidence-based’ guise. We need a society that continually challenges itself to improve and progress, that acknowledges how NDs have helped build our present, and if supported now, how they can shape the future for us all.
If you’d like to get to know the history of neurodiversity, I highly recommend NeuroTribes by Steve Silberman. Through richly-detailed, true stories, you can explore the past, present and possible future of neurodivergent people around the world. Find it here (affiliate link).
Bonny Hazelwood 