The banner at the head of the march. Photo: Photo courtesy the Royal National Institute of Blind People.
Marching truth to power
Symon Hill joined a historic demonstration of disabled people and listened to some of their concerns
‘What Parliament does, the streets can undo,’ declared a sign fixed to a wheelchair on the Thames Embankment last week. The young woman in the wheelchair was part of a 5,000-strong crowd who had descended on central London from all corners of Britain to protest against the impact of government cuts on disabled people. The ‘Hardest Hit’ march was the biggest demonstration of disabled people in British history. The extraordinary diversity of the protesters, both disabled and non-disabled, showed an inspiring cross-section of British people. But they had not come to plead. They had come with pride. This was not a cautious request for ministers to ‘rethink’ details. These people were determined. These people were angry. They had come, to quote some words well-loved by Quakers, to speak truth to power.
