An easy read summary of the political parties’ manifestos using simple words and explanatory images to make the pledges accessible to the 1.5 million adults in the UK with learning disabilities in just one 18-page document has been published by disability charity United Response.
The summary has been published as a special edition of Easy News, the charity’s free accessible news magazine. The magazine is produced by UR Consultants, a group of people with learning disabilities, employed by United Response to translate news stories into an easy read format.
Watch – LDT London: Love your vote at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC4I3_CAYBw
United Response’s political correspondent, David Allkins, who has Asperger’s syndrome and communication difficulties, welcomed the translation of the manifesto into easy read.
“I urge everyone to read this accessible information to make an informed choice on election day. Most of all, I urge everybody everywhere whichever party they support, to exercise their democratic right and vote on 7th May,” he said.
The manifesto special is a round-up of the key points made by the 7 main political parties, providing details of their promises around health, education, immigration and more. It is aimed at supporting people with disabilities to begin discussions on voting and help people to come to a decision on who they will vote for at the general election this Thursday.
Diane Lightfoot, director of communications at United Response, added: “We hope that the manifesto special will empower people with learning disabilities, and anyone else who wants to, to find out more about the policies of all the main parties so that they can cast an informed vote on election day.
“We believe that people with learning disabilities should have access to the same information as the rest of society. We hope that the easy read format, translated by our own team of consultants with learning disabilities, will encourage people to find out more about the manifestos and exercise their democratic right to vote.”
The manifesto edition also supports Every Vote Counts, United Response’s campaign designed to make politics accessible to all, particularly people with learning disabilities. It has provided a set of easy read resources to make the democratic process clearer, and the charity has urged all political parties to communicate more accessibly.
To download the Easy News special on the manifestos go to www.unitedresponse.org.uk/easy-news-party-manifesto-special.
