News from Cornwall Labour

Jude Robinson backs call for jargon free politics

Jude Robinson, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Camborne, Redruth & Hayle, has joined learning disability charity Mencap in calling for all political parties to ensure their election material is accessible to everyone.

Jude said “I was more than happy to sign up to this pledge because jargon drives me up the wall! Even so, it is easy to slip into it whatever walk of life you are in and get used to words and phrases that are completely meaningless to everyone else. I’m not surprised it puts people off voting, so this is a serious issue.”

In a recent survey, Mencap found that more than 90 percent of the voting population don’t understand complicated phrases used in political literature.

That’s why learning disability charity, Mencap has launched its Get My Vote campaign. Get My Vote aims to empower people with a learning disability to vote by persuading the political parties to make their manifestos and information more accessible.

Only a quarter of the one million adults with a learning disability in the UK voted in the last general election, compared to two thirds of the general population.

Many people commented that they didn’t understand what political parties stood for because of the difficult language used.

A right most of us take for granted is effectively being denied to people with a learning disability because politicians do not speak to them in a way that is clear and accessible.

Mark Goldring, chief executive of Mencap said: “The fact that 9 out of 10 people do not understand the language used by politicians reinforces the need for an end to the jargon that surrounds Westminster. It’s time for politicians to use language that people they represent can understand. Mencap believes that politicians have a responsibility to ensure that everyone, including people with a learning disability, can understand their policies so that they feel informed enough to vote. If they don’t, there is something very wrong with our democracy.”

Jude said: “This is important for people with learning disabilities and for very many more people too. It isn’t surprising that people switch off when confronted by jargon but our right to vote should also include a right to clear information.”

Ismail Kaji, of Mencap who has a learning disability, said: “Even getting registered to vote is difficult; there are so many forms to fill in and they are not always easy to understand. I vote because it is important to tell politicians what I care about such as more jobs and schools. It isn’t always easy to decide who to vote for as politicians are not clear about what they say. They need to communicate better and there needs to be less talk, more action for people with a learning disability.”

Other news from Cornwall Labour

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• Labour and unions campaign for dredging the port of Falmouth - 18 January 2012
• Regional funding put at risk by ministers' failure to act - 8 January 2012