In the way I feel the voice of black people is often hijacked by Christian Churches as a ‘community’ issues, it is clear that a socialist movement has hijacked the voice of disabled people as a ‘rights’ issue and I believe they have tried to turn it into a working class struggle.

The fact is disability effects people with impairments from all backgrounds, all classes, all ages and in fact all everything. To turn it into anything else to suit political ideology is insulting. The notion of all disabled people being in poverty is wrong and indeed as someone who lives in so-called poverty, I am not sure we can call it poverty.

As a disability activist, I am fed up that my platform is being stolen by people who simply hate the government and using the welfare reforms as an excuse to demand a socialist state despite the fact it is a political concept that failed throughout Eastern Europe and left disabled people trapped in underfunded institutions as the unwanted of society. If they want Animal Farm, I am not letting them send me to the glue factory!

The voice of real disabled people should be the voice of real disabled people and nothing less, and the socialists should go away and find another issue to corrupt!

If you like what I say, have a look at my website at www.simonstevens.com or follow me on twitter, @simonstevens74