Sadiq Khan has said no – again.

For the third time, the Mayor of London has refused Liberal Democrat calls to appoint a dedicated Disability Champion: someone with lived experience and the authority to represent Disabled Londoners at the highest levels of City Hall decision-making.

Mayor Sadiq claims he’s already got it covered – we don’t need a dedicated role. He points to his Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice, whose sprawling brief also includes race, gender, LGBTQ+ communities and faith. He also references a Deaf and Disabled People’s Forum that meets briefly just four times a year. 

Let’s be honest: this isn’t serious engagement. It’s not even remotely close to the kind of structured and systematic co-production that Disabled Londoners deserve. 

And it certainly isn’t delivering results because by any measure you care to mention, the status quo is failing. Whether it’s repeatedly missing even the most minimal targets for accessible housing, the persistent inaccessibility of most tube stations, or the continued rollout of floating bus stops despite their dangers, Disabled Londoners are being let down at every turn.

And the idea that Disabled People are being adequately consulted is laughable. Take the Mayor’s ironically named “Inclusive” Talent Strategy about breaking down the barriers to employment.

The consultation launched – and closed – without accessible formats ever being made available, despite my requests. Only after I raised a formal complaint did City Hall eventually agree to provide accessible versions and reopen the consultation so Disabled Londoners could contribute after, not alongside, non-disabled people.

This kind of exclusion isn’t a one -off. Disabled People are routinely treated like an afterthought in the plans and policies concocted by City Hall.

So why won’t the Mayor take the simple step of putting a dedicated Disability Champion in charge of turning this around? The cost would be negligible. The impact could be transformative.

But for Sadiq Khan this isn’t about policy, it’s about politics.

The proposal for a Disability Champion was a call for an independent, non-political leader with lived experience to be empowered to speak truth to power and hold the whole system to account.

The Mayor often surrounds himself with yes people, who will just nod along in meetings. Our proposal would be to have someone with the mandate and backbone to demand better and call out failure – without waiting for political permission. Sadiq Khan would not like that.

Other Labour leaders in Westminster would also see this position as a threat. This is, after all, a party that ruthlessly punishes dissent. Just look at the way suspended its own MPs for opposing their devastating proposals to cut welfare support, branding their principled stance an act of “insurrection.”

Some may say that the Mayor himself formed part of that insurrection – speaking out against the cuts, albeit at a late stage when the government’s defeat was inevitable. But these moments of dissent are always timed after much delay and with little impact and no personal reputational damage.

His refusal to take even the smallest step towards improving Disability inclusion at City Hall, makes it abundantly clear that supporting Disabled Londoners is not something the Mayor wants to be part of his legacy, despite the rhetoric. 

Instead, Disabled Londoners will remember that when leadership was needed, when people felt frightened, scapegoated and let down by the national government, Sadiq Khan had the chance to step up. And he said no. Again. And again.

The Liberal Democrats may not win this fight while this Mayor holds office or this Government holds power.  And as Sadiq Khan will very likely not be standing again we may not see this idea turn up in a future manifesto either, as we’ve seen with his adoption of other LibDem ideas like the Erasmus style youth scheme.

But we will not stop. 

We will keep fighting for an independent Disability Champion for London. Because Disabled people aren’t asking for special treatment, they’re demanding a seat at the table that is long overdue.

There are over a million Disabled Londoners. One person to represent them is the very least City Hall can do.

You can sign our petition here: https://www.change.org/p/appoint-a-london-disability-equality-champion-commit-to-a-more-accessible-london  

* Hina Bokhari is the Liberal Democrat Leader on the London Assembly and the most prominent elected Muslim within the Liberal Democrats.