The Chief executive officer of the Glasgow Disability Alliance, Tressa Burke has revealed she turned down an MBE in the recent new year honours because the UK administration was “fuelling hatred, blame and scapegoating of people with disabilities”.
UK Prime Minister, Keir Starker, had recommended Burke, for the honour for her services to people with disabilities.
In response through a letter seen by the Guardian, she declined the proposed award, writing: “I feel that I cannot accept a personal honour because disabled people are being so dishonoured at this time.
“In fact we are being demonised, dehumanised and scapegoated for political choices and policy failures by consecutive governments.”
Burke noted she had no intention to disregard colleagues in the voluntary sector who have accepted similar honours, but stated that she received the recommendation letter on the same day the UK budget was announced.
The budget introduced tighter eligibility assessments for personal independence payments, froze or reduced health-related universal credit top-ups, and included cuts to the Motability scheme.
“The budget was an opportunity to send out a signal not about how much disabled people cost but about how much disabled people are worth and are valued by society,” adding that it has “supercharged the inequalities and unfairness disabled people face”.
“It is fuelling misinformation. It is fuelling hatred. It is fuelling blame and scapegoating. When the biggest problem we have is that taxation needs to be addressed and if we could all get behind that, including the most wealthy people, we would be able to offer the provision of a welfare state.”
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Burke also criticised the government’s perception of disability, which she says is happening at the same time as “growing attacks by the far right about whether or not [disabled] people have any entitlement to things and lots of misinformation”.
In her view, she mentioned that “Scotland is doing better than the UK for sure”, however, her members would be closely monitoring how the Scottish government’s new disability equality plan is implemented in practice, as well as the commitments outlined in party manifestos ahead of the Holyrood elections in May.
Burke, who will mark 20 years at the helm of the GDA in May, also said she was uncomfortable with framing the organisation’s work as the achievement of an individual, stressing that its successes were collective.
“Ultimately I am most proud of the people power of GDA – the board, the staff and the members – all disabled people working together to improve disabled people’s lives at the individual and collective level.”
“The peer support that members give each other, the friendships that have sprung up, people have even got married … that’s just something to be proud of. The sense of community and belonging that GDA members have. It feels like being part of a family for thousands of people.”
The organisation operates on two core objectives: providing direct, individual support to reduce social isolation, and strengthening confidence and collective representation to influence policy and service delivery.
Over the past 20 years, Burke has developed the group from a small grassroots initiative into a nationally recognised advocate for disabled people in Scotland’s largest city, supporting more than 5,000 members during the pandemic.
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