Tory threatens to resign whip after Disability Commissioner post is scrapped

A Tory peer today threatened to resign the Conservative whip in protest at the post of Disability Commissioner being scrapped.

In an exclusive interview with the Evening Standard, Lord Shinkwin said the Conservatives risked being branded the “nasty party”. He said the loss of a national champion had appalled many of the 11 million Britons with disabilities.

“This is not about me, this is about the downgrading of disability,” said Lord Shinkwin, 46, a leading campaigner on disability equality.

“It is also about government transparency... there are an awful lot of serious questions that the Government needs to answer — and these answers need to come from the Prime Minister.”

The peer, who is disabled himself, was in line to succeed the last Disability Commissioner, Paralympic swimmer Lord Chris Holmes.

But days before his appointment was announced he was told that the post was being scrapped and he would only be a general commissioner on the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

During a debate in the Lords today on disabled access, Lord Shinkwin plans to accuse Education Secretary Justine Greening — who is also minister for women and equalities — of being “involved” in the decision. Ms Greening is understood to reject the charge.

Lord Shinkwin said he will quit the Tory whip unless the Prime Minister calls on the EHRC to restore the post and rebuts his fear that ministers were “complicit”.

He added: “On the basis of those answers, I will consider my position. I love my party but I have to stay true to what I believe on such a major issue of social justice.

“I want so much to help rebut unfair charges of our being ‘the nasty party’, but the rug has been pulled from under the wheels of my chair.”

Lord Shinkwin, who uses a wheelchair and a walking stick, was born with brittle bones and spent much of his childhood in hospital.

In 2015 he was made a peer in recognition of his campaigning. He also attracted controversy by leading a Bill that sought to ban late abortions of disabled foetuses.

He has assembled a paper trail of official documents that suggest moves to scrap the post were only rushed through in March when Ms Greening told the EHRC who she had picked.

He is convinced that senior EHRC figures objected to a Conservative. An EHRC spokesman said that was “complete nonsense”, and pointed out Lord Holmes was also a Tory.

“Lord Shinkwin clearly finds it hard to accept the findings of the Government’s appointment panel that he should only be offered a role as a general commissioner,” the spokesman added.

“There was no political motivation in this decision. We are delivering an ambitious programme with rights for disabled people at the heart of everything we do.”

A No 10 spokesman said it was committed to furthering the rights of the disabled.