At 32, I was told not to expect to have my eyesight all my life due to a direct relative being registered blind by the age of 40. As my eyesight worsened, I was placed on medication that caused me to collapse, leading to the discovery of a congenital heart defect that left me prone to sudden death. The shock I experienced turned to horror when I found out that both of my children also carry the gene, placing them at high risk of sudden death.

For over a decade, I fought to understand my health conditions and those of my children. After paying for whole genome sequencing out of desperation, I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis and hypermobility spectrum disorder. My children share the hypermobility spectrum disorder, with one having it so severely that they were diagnosed with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Despite these overwhelming challenges, I am determined to advocate for those who face similar struggles. My journey has highlighted the inadequacies in our healthcare system, the barriers to obtaining necessary medical diagnoses and treatments, and the widespread discrimination against disabled individuals.

I am running for MP to shine a light on these critical issues and to push for meaningful change. Here are some of my key proposals:

• Transparency in Employment: Require businesses with over 100 employees to publicly disclose the percentage of their workforce that meets the legal definition of disabled.
• Support for Disabled Entrepreneurs: Continue benefits for disabled individuals starting their own businesses for 18 months, with flexible income requirements to ensure support continues as their business grows.
• Fair Housing Opportunities: Ensure disabled individuals are given fair consideration in private rentals, with mandatory explanations if they are not chosen.
• Increased Housing Allowance: Adjust housing allowance for those with mobility issues to reflect 50% of local rental stock, reducing the need for costly adaptations.
• Combatting Cuckooing: Introduce a specific crime for cuckooing with a minimum five-year sentence.
• Accessible Legal Proceedings: Simplify disability discrimination cases with informal hearings, reducing the need for legal jargon and expenses, similar to practices in Ireland.
• Enhanced Education Support: Allocate more one-on-one teaching time for children with special educational needs, optimizing outcomes without additional costs.
• Preventing Pavement Parking: Implement and enforce stricter regulations to prevent vehicles from parking on pavements, ensuring safety and accessibility for the disabled and elderly.
• Stricter Sentencing for Abuse and Neglect: Increase sentencing guidelines for the abuse, assault, or neglect of elderly and disabled individuals to provide stronger deterrents and justice for victims.
• Raising Carer’s Allowance Earnings Threshold:Raise the earnings threshold for Carer’s Allowance to support carers financially, allowing them to maintain a better standard of living while providing essential care.
• Funding for Deaf Athletes:Increase sports funding to support deaf athletes in attending the Deaflympics, ensuring they receive the necessary resources for training, travel, and competition participation.
• Government Loans for Care Funding:Implement a government loan scheme to help individuals fund their care costs without needing to sell their homes, allowing them to stay healthier and happier in their own homes for longer.
• Redirecting Diversity Staff Funding:
  Funding for diversity staff in hospitals will be redirected to training and employing disabled people to counsel patients in resilience, leveraging their unique experiences to help others overcome adversity.
• Ensuring Safety and Dignity:Same-sex carers will be provided for intimate care of disabled and elderly individuals to ensure their safety and dignity.
• Train travel: Encourage train companies to actively engage with disabled passengers during the procurement process for new trains to enhance the accessibility and ease of travel for disabled individuals.