Barriers to elected office for disabled people

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Evans, Elizabeth and Reher, Stefanie (2021) Barriers to elected office for disabled people. UK Government Equalities Office, London. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/barrier...)

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Abstract

Disabled people, who make up around 1 in 5 of the UK population, are thought to be under-represented in politics at different levels of government, both across the UK and internationally. The purpose of this report is two-fold: first, it provides an overview of the state of political representation of disabled people in the UK and around the world. Second, it identifies and analyses the barriers to achieving and holding elected office faced by disabled people in the UK. To date, few governments and political parties outside of the UK have taken steps towards improving access to elected office for disabled people. As such, the array of policies and measures already in place in the UK are relatively advanced. Nonetheless, interviews with disabled people in England and Wales who aspired to stand for election, stood as candidates, and who were successful in being elected as candidates revealed that they continue to face a range of barriers during the various stages of the recruitment and representation processes.

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