Hansard

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this important debate and I thank my colleague Jeremy Balfour for bringing the matter to the chamber. His commitment to disability rights has meant that he has kept it on the agenda, and I hope that he is able to continue to do that in here after May—or, if not, from outside this place, as I will be doing.

The value of lived experience matters. Our job in here is to represent constituents and to improve lives, and we can only do that well if we represent the breadth of experience that exists. This parliamentary session has seen an improvement in representation, which has been reflected not only in legislation, but in the way that our Parliament does its business. I put on record my thanks to the brilliant staff in security, information technology, facilities management, the chamber desk, catering, the Scottish Parliament information centre, legislation and cleaning—with a special mention for the brilliant Brenda Law—for taking inclusion so seriously and making me and others feel so welcome. I also thank the Presiding Officer for leadership on that and for agreeing to host the first ever parliamentary disability summit in 2023, to celebrate international disabled people’s day. I hope that it becomes a biannual summit.

Although, in this session, much has been done on inclusion that we can be proud of, we are not there yet. Almost one in four people in Scotland are disabled, yet only 5 per cent of members in this place say that they are. People from other protected groups continue to face underrepresentation in here, too. There should be nothing about us without us. Policy and practice and the laws that govern them should work for all of us. To get there, we need to have a more representative Parliament.

When I was elected in 2021, I was the first permanent wheelchair user to become an MSP. Although I am extremely proud of that and of my time here, it should not have taken so long. I will not be returning here in May, but I will continue to fight for disabled people to take their rightful place in society and here in their Parliament. I will leave the ladder of opportunity to enable disabled people to come after me. We are here, surely, to improve the everyday lives of the people we serve and to ensure that the people who come next take us further and faster on our journey to a Scotland that will be a land of opportunity for all of us.

We cannot afford to backslide, because the distance to go is too great. Too many disabled people cannot get out of their beds because they have no social care. Too many disabled people are trapped in their own homes because those homes are inaccessible. Too many disabled people cannot get around Scotland because they cannot get on public transport. Too many disabled people are not in work because of all that, as well as the negative attitudes that mean that some employers are afraid to employ disabled people.

In preparing for today’s debate, I was reminded of the training on disability equality that I gave to MSPs in 2017. One member said to me, “The experiences you describe are unacceptable. Why aren’t disabled people beating down the doors of this place to get it fixed?” I replied, “Because you can’t get here to beat down the doors if you can’t get out of bed.” It is that basic, and until we sort out the basics, representation of disabled people on the high street, in workplaces and in this legislature will be a pipe dream for too many. We must not let being a representative stay in the dreams of disabled people. We must allow them to realise it, because disabled people have a place in here, too.

Let us leave the chamber with renewed resolve to make that happen. It will not take rocket science, but it will take change—in small places, close to home, in housing, in care, in transport, in employment and so on. It will also take bravery on the part of all members who return and the new members who enter Parliament with them. I wish everyone who ever occupies these benches all the best of luck in the world to deliver a fairer Scotland, because disabled people need them to. I will continue to work day and night, out of here, to help to make that happen, too.

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