The more the Conservative government belittle us, the savvier we become and the harder we work (Picture: Sally-Ann Hart)

According to the Conservative candidate for Hastings and Rye, Sally-Ann Hart, the minimum wage shouldn’t apply to those with learning disabilities.

Why? Because ‘they don’t understand about money’.

Her extraordinary claims were caught on camera during a local hustings event ahead of next week’s general election, after a member of the audience asked her why she had shared an article on her Facebook page arguing that people with learning disabilities should be exempt from earning minimum wage.

Sally-Ann Hart’s comments are hurtful not only to those with learning disabilities, who deserve a fair wage for the hours they work, but for the entire disabled community – because it echoes the pervasive, offensive idea that our work isn’t worth as much as someone else’s.




There’s no doubt in my mind that many out there agree with Sally-Ann’s appalling views. As a disabled person, I see the awkward looks on people’s faces when I turn up to meetings in my wheelchair. Although we’ve come far as a nation, I still hear old-fashioned and offensive language being used.

I still feel like I am habitually seen as a second-class member of society.

If anything, disabled people generally have to be savvier and work harder than the average person when it comes to employment and money – all because Sally-Ann Hart’s party has forced disabled people further into the background of society.

We are consistently let down by the PIP system, and by employers who are slow to make their workspaces accessible. Comments like Hart’s only make negative assumptions around the ability of disabled people fester.

Commuting proves to be hell on a daily basis for those who need assistance, and companies discriminate against disabled job applicants just because they can.

Cuts to the NHS, to mental health services and to care services mean life as a disabled person is spent being a slave to waiting lists and awful hold music.

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Under the Conservative government’s current punitive system, many have been declared ‘fit for work’ despite an array of health issues – even while literally on their death beds. Food banks are busier than ever, as the infamous five-week wait for benefits stretches out in front of people like a ticking time bomb.

And yet, disabled people get back up and fight on. Ultimately, the more the Conservative government belittle us, the savvier we become and the harder we work.

It appears as if Hart has been living under a rock, not seeing the hundreds thousands of disabled people who work hard to make a living around the UK.

Has Hart not seen the disabled teachers educating our children to grow up with open minds? Perhaps she’s never stepped foot in a hospital and seen those with disabilities working as everything from doctors to hospital porters? Or those in her own constituency tapping away on laptops in coffee shops, or serving ice cream to tourists?



There are currently 611,000 self-employed disabled people, making their own career in-roads after being shut out of traditional industries. I am one of them, and I’d personally love to invite Hart to discuss my life as a disabled worker. I’d like her to see the invoices and spreadsheets, the way I market myself to become a better prospect, the challenges I face when I’m paid late.

I’d also like to invite her to the food bank I volunteer at, to meet fellow disabled people and see just how intelligent they are when it comes to money – and yet they still face living in poverty on a daily basis.

Hart’s comments show that it’s more important than ever that we champion disabled people and their work. Because if we let Sally and her ilk get away with comments like that about people with learning disabilities, where does it stop? Who else will she say should be ‘exempt’ from minimum wage?

Disabled people’s experiences make us some of the most intelligent, creative, and hard-working people around. We deserve to be valued just as much as anybody else in the workforce.

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