Rights Now, 1992–1995
The Rights Now group was formed in 1992. [12] Although VOADL had been successful in pulling together a number of the largest disability charities ("organisations for") they had found that disabled people's organisations ("organisations of") were distrustful and reluctant to join and share their knowledge and strategies. This changed when the creation of a new, combined organisation was suggested by the executive committee of BCODP and the charities involved in VOADL agreed to the 'merger'. [8] Rights Now had a reported 83 member organisations, including trade unions as well as disabled people's organisations (DPOs) and disability charities, and a reported 10,000 individual members. Only disabled people who were representing a DPO could be an office-holder of Rights Now. [13]
The first Chair of Rights Now was Stephen Bradshaw, chief executive of the Spinal Injuries Association, followed by Rachel Hurst. [10] The campaign reportedly had strong links with Parliamentarians though the All-Party Disability Group and its researcher Victoria Scott, who worked for RADAR, and the Rights Now Coordinator, Adam Thomas. [10]
In parallel, around the same time many disabled people and their organisations were becoming more vocally critical of charities and fundraising, and in particular, on the biennial Telethons run by ITV. A protest demo of around 200 disabled people outside Telethon 90 was organised by the Campaign to Stop Patronage [5] with Victoria Waddington and Allan Sutherland doing the press liaison. [7]
The 1990 demo created the conditions for a larger-scale protest demo by more than one thousand disabled people outside (and some inside) Telethon 92. The organisational work for these demos had a background in the emerging disability arts scene rather than in elected politics, committees and lobbying, and it led to the creation of the Disabled People's Direct Action Network, DAN, in early 1993. [4] While DAN was more focused on inaccessible transport rather than civil rights laws in Parliament, nevertheless their highly visible protests on the streets across England and Wales caused a "media extravaganza" according to John Evans, saying also that it "no doubt highlighted the profile of the need for civil rights legislation". [12]
1993
Although DAN was very focused on street campaigning against inaccessible public transport (mass transit), nevertheless its first major action was during the by-election in Christchurch, Dorset, in 1993 [14] where Rob Hayward, the Conservative candidate, had previously been an MP for another area and had 'talked out' a bill for disabled people's civil rights. He failed to win this safe seat.
In July 1993, Rights Now published What Price Civil Rights?, a report that provided "substantial evidence that the government [had] grossly overestimated the cost of implementing the Civil Rights Bill", the government figure being £ 17 billion. [12] The Rights Now report estimated the cost as no more than £ 5 billion. [7]
1994
In the 1993/1994 parliamentary session Roger Berry MP won a place in the ballot for a private members bill, and for at least the ninth time since Jack Ashley MP, a Civil Rights (Disabled Persons) Bill was put forward to become a law. The wording had evolved over the years, this version having been updated by the disabled lawyers Caroline Gooding [15] and David Ruebain. A national political scandal emerged when it was revealed on 6 May 1994 that the Minister for Disabled People, Nicholas Scott MP (and father of Victoria Scott, who was a strong supporter of Rights Now, causing much press comment), had arranged for over 80 wrecking amendments to be put by five backbench MPs who were hostile to the bill, while he maintained he was "neutral" on the matter; a miss-statement which caused him to have to be replaced soon afterwards by William Hague MP as the Minister for Disabled People. [4] [7] [8] [12]
On 23 May 1994 "a group of disabled activists abandoned their wheelchairs and crawled into the House of Commons in an attempt to lobby their MPs. They were turned away at the normal public entrance - which is inaccessible to wheelchair users - and it took five hours before they were allowed into the parliamentary lobby." [7]
Perhaps the largest attended protest Rights Now organised was on 9 July 1994 in Trafalgar Square and Whitehall, London, with an estimated 2,800 people protesting. [16] DAN took part in the protest with their own action, delivering a giant 'letter' to 10 Downing Street for then-Prime Minister John Major MP. [17]
1995
Following the failure of the Roger Berry bill, the next iteration for civil rights was the Harry Barnes bill. A report by the House of Commons Library on this bill, written by staff with no political axe to grind, stated, "The Bill has the overwhelming support of disability groups, who have been campaigning for 10-15 years to establish some form of anti-discrimination legislation." [18]
In an unusual move in Parliament, the government introduced its own bill - to become the DDA - to be debated in parallel with the Barnes bill. A report by the House of Commons Library on the DDA, while it was still a bill, stated,
"there appears to be unanimous agreement among disability groups on the main ways in which it falls short of the sort of legislation that they desire. There is also general support for the Private Member's Bill introduced by Harry Barnes ... The main objections to the Government's Bill are that:
- the National Disability Council (NDC) will not be powerful enough;
- the definition of disability is too narrow;
- the scope of the Government's Bill is too limited;
- there are too many "get-out" provisions.
Disability groups object to the fact that the NDC will not have the same sort of enforcement powers that the Commission for Racial Equality or the Equal Opportunities Commission have". [19]
Rights Now is explicitly referenced in this report as one of the 'disability groups' holding these views. [19] [12]
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 became law; the Barnes Bill failed. [12]
