Tory disregard for disabled people could prove costly at the ballot box

‘Revelations at the ongoing Covid inquiry have raised significant questions about how much the Conservative government cares about disabled people.’ Photograph: UniversalImagesGroup/UIG/Getty Images

I am deeply concerned by the prime minister’s decision to remove the dedicated role of minister for disabled people, a position that has been part of the government for decades (Disabled people don’t need a minister, thinks Sunak – they just need to try harder, 14 December).

During my time as a producer on the BBC Radio 4 disability programme Does He Take Sugar?, I had the opportunity to interview several ministers for disabled people, both Conservative and Labour, including Nicholas Scott, Alan Howarth and Alistair Burt. I understand perhaps more than most the importance of the role to disabled people, and for the visibility and awareness of disability in the government.