Disability & the 2024 General Election
A special edition guest written by Key Worker Petition Campaign UK
Hi, I’m Cass, from the Keyworker Petition Campaign U.K. and on behalf of Rachel, Sarah and the rest of the team, we’re really honoured to be invited to write a blog post on the general election for the Long Covid Advocacy Blog.
We are just a few of hundreds of thousands of keyworkers with occupational Long Covid and when the three of us started a petition for a compensation and pension scheme for keyworkers with occupational Long Covid in the late summer of 2022, we didn’t think it would end up with over 130,000 supporters and a trip to Downing Street to hand in the petition with the Change U.K. team in the Spring of 2023.
We have worked on surveys, shared stories, and helped raise awareness of many of the issues that our community faces because many of the same issues that affect you affect us as well. We have made connections with Long Covid and other Covid action groups across the U.K. to raise awareness of the many issues around the pandemic.
Those of us with the protected characteristic of disability (which included chronic conditions like Long Covid) are the most numerous of all minorities in the U.K. An estimated 16 million of us have some kind of disability or long-term condition which has an effect on our lives and that’s almost one-quarter of the population. We believe that voting matters, which is why we are writing this post.
At this point in time, the most important thing to do is check you are registered to vote and/or get onto the electoral register. There is more information here on all aspects of voting. Search this website or the U.K. Government one for all kinds of voting information. Then you need to decide which is the best vote for you, in person, postal or proxy voting.
In-person voting depends on the accessibility of the polling station, as well as any reasonable adjustments in place for us living with a fluctuating, remitting and relapsing condition, sometimes it’s not easy to predict how we will be on the day.
Postal voting is just that: Ahead of the election, you’re sent a paper ballot for your constituency, you follow the instructions carefully to not invalidate your vote, and then send it back by the date specified. It’s convenient, can be done from home and the only thing you have to think about is who you want to vote for and how you’ll get it in the post.
Proxy voting is where you give permission for someone else to vote on your behalf – either by post or in person – if you can’t manage it yourself. You instruct them on what to do.
Another important consideration is what is acceptable voter ID, and you can find out at the above links. If you don’t have anything on that list, then you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate (not applicable in Northern Ireland), again with more information on the above links.
There are final dates on when you have to do all this though and we would recommend that you do this in good time, as many applications for differing votes or VAC may cause delays which might impact your being able to vote on the day.
Register to vote by: 18th June 2024
Apply for a postal vote by: 19th June 2024
Apply for Postal Proxy by: 19th June 2024
Apply for In-person proxy by: 26th June 2024
Apply for your VAC by: 26th June 2024
The above are the last days to do that by, so don’t leave this till the last minute.
If you’re not sure who to vote for, it’s a good idea to check out the websites of the main U.K. political parties for their manifestos or read any canvassing literature that comes your way. You can also think of questions to ask candidates and their teams on your doorstep – more of that in another blog post!
Above all, even in first past the post, remember that your vote matters: so, use it in the best way for you.
Follow us on X at @LongCovidAdvoc and @KeyWorkerPetUK
