A disabled Prime Minister?
- 27 Jun 07, 3:54 PM
As of today, the UK has a disabled Prime Minister. Did you notice?
Last year Gordon Brown was voted by Disability Now Magazine. Following a rugby accident in his teens, Brown lost the sight in one eye and was left with partial sight in the other. This means that he needs some documents printing in large text.
As this is a 'reasonable adjustment' under the Disability Discrimination Act, it was argued that Brown was disabled, at least in this particular legal context. Indeed, having documents printed in large text is a simple adjustment, but not one which all people with visual impairments are able to take for granted. According to the RNIB , 96% of published books and other literature are currently unavailable in large print or other accessible formats for people with visual or reading impairments.
Ouch readers may also recall that, in a move which didn't slightly threaten to destroy his entire political career, Brown subsequently incurred the wrath of the formidable Disability Bitch when he declared that he didn't really consider himself to have "a disability".
Over at Disability Now, Sunil Peck has written - the first I've seen on the issue - about the potential impact of having a visually impaired Prime Minister.
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Comments
In the July 2007 Disability Now newsletter they have also published an article I wrote for them on living with a disability in Zimbabwe...
Best regards
'debvhu
People forget, because not much was made of it, that John Major had a disability, however slight - no, not the things for which he was pilloried - he had a very bad car accident in 1969, which meant that he has a bad back and walks with a limp because one leg is shorter than the other. He even thought he might lose his leg.
I don't know if it would count as a disability under the DDA, though.