Main content

The fight for disabled rights in the UK

How a group of wheelchair warriors brought London to a standstill and forced through disability rights legislation.

The UK government passed the landmark Disability Discrimination Act in November 1995. The legislation made it illegal for employers or service providers to discriminate against disabled people. Campaigners brought London to a standstill in the run up to the passing of the Act. Baroness Jane Campbell was at the forefront of that fight for equality and remembers the time when disabled people seized control of their destiny.

Photo: A disabled woman on her mobility scooter is carried away by four policemen after obstructing the traffic outside the Houses of Parliament. Credit: PA Archive/PA Images

Available now

9 minutes

Last on

Sat 28 Nov 202003:50GMT
BBC World Service except Australasia

More episodes

Previous

Rwanda at the Paralympics

Next

How Ethiopian rebels took power in 1991

See all episodes from Witness History

Broadcasts

  • Fri 27 Nov 202008:50GMT
    BBC World Service
  • Fri 27 Nov 202012:50GMT
    BBC World Service
  • Fri 27 Nov 202018:50GMT
    BBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
  • Fri 27 Nov 202023:50GMT
    BBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
  • Sat 28 Nov 202003:50GMT
    BBC World Service except Australasia

Featured in...

Podcast