Open Letter: Include neurodiversity in Labour’s manifesto

Sign the Open Letter here.

As members of the Labour Party and its affiliates, we are extremely disappointed that the National Policy Forum (NPF) report contains no mention of neurodiversity.

Under the Conservative government, autistic, dyslexic, ADHD and other neurodivergent people have been at the sharp end of austerity cuts and discrimination. Waiting lists for assessments are years long, health and social care services are underfunded and inadequate, and funding for neurodivergent schoolkids has been slashed.

There are millions of neurodivergent people in the UK, and millions more allies, and we expect an incoming Labour government to deliver significant and radical improvements to neurodivergent lives.

In 2021, the NPF failed to include neurodiversity in its report, and that year’s Party Conference voted to refer back the report because of this omission. By again failing to include the issue, the NPF has disregarded the democratic decision of Labour conference.

The NPF report includes an assertion that Labour will work with disabled people in forming policy, but by ignoring neurodivergent people in its own policy process, it is not implementing this commitment.

Labour was the first mainstream political party to include rights for neurodivergent people in its manifesto. With this NPF report, it is in danger of allowing itself to be overtaken by other parties, which in government have attacked the rights and services that neurodivergent people rely on.

We call on the Labour Party to include clear policies to improve rights and services for neurodivergent people in its manifesto for the forthcoming general election, and engage with its neurodivergent members in doing so.

Initial signatories:

John McDonnell MP

Micah Neale, Spelthorne CLP; Secretary, Neurodivergent Labour

Andii Bowsher, Newcastle upon Tyne East CLP

Janine Booth, Disability Officer, Lewes CLP

Joseph Redford, Tunbridge Wells CLP

Carl Howes, Uxbridge and South Ruislip CLP

Myriam Roberts, Loughborough CLP; Unison

Mary Burgess, Tunbridge Wells CLP Secretary

Luke Hoggarth, Bradford

David Waller, Fire Brigades Union

Maria Sale, Bolton South East CLP

James Collier, Regional 5 Educational & Learning Organiser, Fire Brigades Union

Alison Brown, Sheffield Heeley CLP

Hollie Codling, Fairness at Work rep, Fire Brigades Union

Kas Witana, Penistone & Stocksbridge CLP political education officer

Mike Phipps, Brent Central CLP

Kieron Thomas, Fire Brigades Union

Martin Betts, Tunbridge Wells CLP

David Habberjam, Northumberland Chair, Fire Brigades Union

Greg O’Neill, Fire Brigades Union

Stephen Wicks, Lewisham East CLP

Rob Martin, Fire Brigades Union

Gwen McNeill, RMT disabled members’ advisory committee asst secretary, STUC disabled workers’ committee member

Janine McCumiskey, Fire Brigades Union

Paul Hardman, Fire Brigades Union

Neil Bevan, Malvern Branch, West Worcestershire CLP

Tim Cooper, Nottingham East CLP Trade Union Liaison Officer

Jules Raikes, Labour member 

Alison Reilly, Norwich North

Hugo Pound, Tunbridge Wells CLP

Image credit: Rathfelder, CC SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Top_table_of_the_National_Policy_Forum_2012.jpg