'The voices of disabled Brits must be heard in order for real change to happen'

There are 14 million disabled people in Britain.

They are our friends, our relatives, our workmates and our neighbours.

They come from all walks of life and all parts of the country but they are united by one thing: they are rarely given a voice.

That is why the Mirror this week is running a series of articles written by disabled people for disabled people.

This is their chance to tell their own stories and to confront the lazy assumptions, stereotypes and prejudice too often associated with disability.

Their call is “nothing about us without us”, and not for sympathy but for empathy.

They want people to understand the frustrations they feel about the lack of access, the meanness of the benefits system and the barriers to employment.

But they also want to dispel the myths surrounding disability and show that disabled people are not apart from our lives but an essential part of them.

Attitudes are changing but the pace is slow.

Disabled people still face discrimination whether trying to use public transport, enter the workplace or enjoy something as simple as a drink in the pub or a meal in a restaurant.

'If change is to happen then the voices of disabled people must be heard' (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

As we report today, the benefits system remains grotesquely unfair to the extent that it has been linked to hundreds of suicides and other deaths of disabled people.

The axing of the Independent Living Fund has stopped tens of thousands of people being able to live the fulfilling life they want.

At the very least the Government should be obliged by law to consult with disabled people before drafting policies that affect their lives.

If change is to happen then the voices of disabled people must be heard.

Unfit for office

The more we learn, the worse it is for recklessly unconcerned Boris Johnson and his now former Deputy Chief Whip, Chris Pincher.

There are few even among his own Tory MPs who believe that the Prime Minister was unaware of sordid allegations about his enforcer’s unacceptable behaviour.

Evidence that Johnson considered predatory advances to be a joke is another blow for a PM proved every week to be unfit for high office.