Protest in and outside Westminster at Independent Living Fund closure

Bob Williams-Findlay, a Left Unity member and founding member of Disabled People Against Cuts, reports on the action

Wednesday 24 June saw an alliance of Independent Living Fund (ILF) users, Disabled People Against Cuts and Occupy not only take direct action outside the Palace of Westminster against the closure of the ILF, but also inside. BBC political correspondent Norman Smith reported live from the lobby that in all of his time covering parliament, he had never witnessed anything like this before.

Next week the ILF will close, with many of the 18,000 service users still uncertain about what support, if any, they will receive in order to live independently within mainstream society. In a statement issued last year, disabled people’s organisations and members of the Social Work Action Network pointed out that, “Whereas support received through the ILF has transformed thousands of lives, local authorities are not able to provide the same level or range of support through their current systems. With central funding to local authorities being cut this can only get worse.”

Against this backdrop, 30 activists, of whom many were wheelchair users, held a lobby in the foyer just outside the corridor to the House of Commons to brief MPs and the national media about the devastating impact the closure will have. Roughly halfway through the Prime Minister’s Questions a flank of protesters caught the security off guard by suddenly charging down the corridor towards the doors of the Commons. Panic and mayhem followed, with some of the police using excessive force to prevent an invasion. Many bystanders looked on, both shocked and angered by what they were witnessing. For twenty minutes there was a standoff between police and chanting protestors.

After a while the protest fell back to allow space for the media and MPs to speak to participants. Among the MPs who came and offered support were Labour leader candidate Jeremy Corbyn and Labour veteran Dennis Skinner. As the Guardian reports:

Skinner defended the decision by protesters to attempt to enter the Commons chamber. “That’s what the Bullingdon boys did, except they were using fire extinguishers in hotel foyers. This was more practical. It was about real life,” he said.

Following a brief respite, the campaigners took their direct action onto the streets, blocking traffic outside parliament before marching to Downing Street. What is clear is that while the ILF will be closed by Iain Duncan Smith’s department next week, this campaign is far from over.