Autistic Politics

[LadyStone aka Caragh]

Hey Ploddy, Alex and anyone else stumbling across this!

You all think there should be a movement?! I think we should be heard, and we ain’t doing anything!

We need to deal with these issues before it’s too late!

[Kwilks]

I've long advocated us developing a local grassroots movement to get autistic people more politically motivated + educated, as I feel it'd give our activism more teeth - in particular, developing a more class-based / material understanding of autism, especially where it fits into society and the wider topic of neurodiversity in politics as a whole.

I do think that we should look beyond Autism in this regard, though, and reach out to other groups / initiatives where they exist.

Sadly, this is all talk for the moment!

[AlexRowley]

I think it would be amazing to have an Autism party, or even a party for the disabled community at large. Unfortunately, where we are spread across the country, we'd never get a single MP under firs-past-the-post, even if those closest to us also voted for it. Unless we all moved to the same constituency xD

There is actually an autistic MP though, he was diagnosed last year after being suspended by Labour.

[Kwilks]

Aye, we were all rooting for O'Mara when he was elected since it was already known he was the first disabled MP, especially taking the seat from Nick Clegg - but some of the stuff he was coming out with on social media was out of order so I'm not really sorry he's gone - Just sad that we couldn't have had a better first autistic MP.

As for a Party, I don't think a specifically autistic party would really do the job - we're much better off coordinating with other neuroatypical groups as part of a wider neurodiversity movement, and organising independent of electoral politics. The closest historical example I can think of would be something like the old BPP in America, which focused on providing direct aid and community support through local chapters rather than trying to contest elections they knew they'd never win.

[CharlesHains]

I wish I could offer something more tangible and factually verifiable, but the state of UK / English politics is so shambolic that the only home any sane, progressive individual would find is with the Greens.

[Kwilks]

As a slightly intriguing update, I'm going to be going to the first Neurodivergent Labour Party annual meeting at the end of this month as a founding member, and hope to review its Neurodiversity Manifesto & put forward a motion for said conference ahead of it before too long!