Learning Disability Alliance England launches

We are delighted to have been asked to be part of the Learning Disability Alliance England. The Alliance believe that it is essential that the broadest possible alliance is created in order to stand up for the rights of people with learning disabilities.

The core mission of the Alliance will reflect the beliefs of the Campaign for a Fair Society and its many members:

Everyone is equal, no matter their differences or disabilities. A fair society sees each of its members as a full citizen – a unique person with a life of their own. A fair society is organised to support everyone to live a full life, with meaning and respect.

An initial working group, combining the Campaign for a Fair Society, People First England, Bringing Us Together and the Housing & Support Alliance, will be chaired by Dr Simon Duffy.  This governance will be reviewed as the Alliance develops.

We have only a few months to inform and maximise the vote by people with learning disabilities, their families and their allies and we are committed to doing everything we can. We will work to bring the voices of people with learning disabilities, families and professionals together; but we are also committed to ensuring that people with learning disabilities have a veto over all our policies, and that they cannot be out-­‐voted by others. We will design and establish the necessary voting arrangements over the next few months and before the publication of policy platform.

Over the next few months we will:

• Launch the Learning Disability Alliance’s website and invite other organisations to join us.
• Publish a policy platform, which we will ensure is both debated and ultimately backed by a democratic vote in time for our press launch on 21st November 2015
• Contact politicians to share our proposed policies and to review their own manifestos in advance of the election on 7th May 2015
• Ask as many people and organisations as possible to join us as members of the Alliance.

Membership:

There are three kinds of members:

Organisational members

• Does your organisation primarily support people with learning disabilities to advocate for themselves?
• Does your organisation primarily support families of people with learning disabilities?
• Does your organisation provide assistance to people with learning disabilities?

Individual members

• Are you someone with a learning disability?
• Are you a family member of someone with a learning disability?
• Are you are professional or other interested citizen?

Sponsors
If you are an organisation that can contribute time, money or expertise to the Learning Disability Alliance we’d love to hear from you. You would become one of our sponsor and you will be named and thanked on the website and in other literature we produce. You will also be an organisational member.

How to become a member

Membership will be free until June 2015, we will review our membership policy after the General Election.

We really do hope you will want to be part of this.  If you are interested in becoming a member or sponsoring the Alliance, then here is the membership form.

Debs Aspland

Mum to three great kids, each with a different SEN.
Transplanted from the NW to the SE.
Co-founder and Director of Bringing Us Together