Empty apologies from my Labour Party Branch

While it pains me to say what I'm about to say, it doesn't surprise me. Labour's Coldharbour Branch is an exclusive club.

Last Thursday I went along to the monthly Labour Party Coldharbour Branch meeting. Again I was confronted with an access issue. The meeting was held in a venue with a high step at the entrance and door too narrow to allow my wheelchair ingress. 

Most of the members came out of the meeting room, so once more I became the focus of attention. That fucking nuisance making life difficult, again!

Of course, I accepted their apologies for not being able to take part, and I went home.

Today I received a copy of the Minutes of the meeting from which I was excluded. No mention of Sean McGovern in the apologies. Indeed no mention of any access issues at all. 

So, not only was I excluded from the meeting, but the Branch appears to be comfortable within itself to ignore the incident.

The Minutes themselves are also rather interesting when a discussion took place around equality. It was minuted that: 

"There was also in place a programme to fast-track BAME leaders and a programme to examine unconscious bias."

Oh, the fucking irony! 

There was also mention of the Equalities Commission report. I wonder, do any in the Branch know how many disabled service users or Disabled People's Organisations were on that the Commission?

There were none. Back in November, or maybe December, 2016 Lambeth Council held a presentation on the forthcoming Equalities Commision they were initiating in order to, I'm guessing, improve services for those who sit under the equalities umbrella (or at least those invited in out of the rain).

The council officer ran through a list of organisations and businesses. There were twenty-some, as I recall. On spotting that there were none of the Commissioners came from DPOs or disabled service users, I asked why.

The council officer looked at me as though I as though I was a Cobynista at a Progress poison pen night. Noticing that the officer was struggling, the Chair of the event moved the business along - as is the wont of a Chair.

After a few more hasty words the council officers thanked us all for our attention and the meeting moved to roundtable discussions; from which each table was asked to present the three main issues that would be fed through to the Commission. 

There were six tables, and so six spokespeople. Every single table had as their priority issue...REPRESENTATION OF DISABLED SERVICE USERS AND DPOs ON THE COMMISSION.

Did the Commision listen? No, they didn't. Back in the summer, this same non-representative body invited me to speak at an event in the new building in Brixton. The event was to discuss the Commissions findings.

My initial reaction was to ignore the invitation. However, the organiser of the event telephoned me and we had a long and very frank discussion. Lambeth Council, I argued, had totally ignored the disabled community in the borough forging ahead with a set of findings that in no way reflected the needs and concerns of many disabled service users. 

When I arrived I found that I wasn't a guest speaker, no instead I could ask a question from the floor on a disability issue to a group of Council Officers none of whom represented the disabled community. 

I declined the offer as I refused to legitimise a Kangaroo Commission set up by a disablist council that has the temerity to think it can make decisions for disabled people without the input of disabled people.

NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US