MUDSA pays tribute to Lord Sir Alf Morris of Manchester

MUDSA would like to pay tribute to the disability rights pioneer, Lord Morris of Manchester. Lord Morris was the MP for Wythenshawe and a big United fan but he will be most remembered for his pioneering stance about the rights of disabled people. He succeeded in getting a Private Members Bill through Parliament which became the Chronically Sick and Disabled Act 1970; ultimately this Act provides MUDSA members with most of what they enjoy today in terms of access and inclusion. Lord Morris and the Act opened the agenda to disability within our society and without his inspiration there would be little of what we now take for granted such as care support from Local Authorities, Mobility Allowance, Blue Badge bays etc… They may not all be directly attributable to him but it was his original vision which germinated into what we have in the present day.

The day before the second reading of his disability bill, 1969, Lord Morris said: “If we could each bequeath one precious gift to posterity, I would choose a society in which there is genuine compassion for long-term sick and disabled people; where understanding is unostentatious and sincere; where needs come before means; where if years cannot be added to their lives, at least life can be added to their years; where the mobility of disabled people is restricted only by the bounds of technical progress and discovery; where they have the fundamental right to participate in industry and society according to ability; where socially preventable distress is unknown; and where no one has cause to be ill at ease because of her or his disability.”

We, the MUDSA membership, would like to express our condolences to the family and friends of Lord Morris and in doing so express our appreciation for all that he achieved and the impact that it’s had on the everyday lives of disabled people.