The Conservative Disability Group has established a 'CDG CPF Group' and is officially recognised by the Conservative Policy Forum. The CPF is the party's grassroots-led think tank that bridges the gap between members and ministers. CPF offers people across the country an opportunity to discuss and design solutions to the policy challenges facing Britain today, and have their say in the national discussion which is fed directly to the Prime Minister's Policy Unit and Government Ministers.
It is as important as ever that we demonstrate how only the Conservatives will make the difficult decisions needed to secure a better and brighter future for Britain. With 250 groups across the country, a fantastic voluntary team and strong professional support from CCHQ, the CPF has a vital role at the heart of the Conservative Party. The CDG's CPF Group is Chaired by our Policy Lead, Michelle Lowe who co-ordinates the various sessions we hold as a group. We have strong links with the CPF and welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with them to improve the lives of disabled people and their families and carers.
Our priority for our responses is to engage with our members across the country and ensure that the perspectives and concerns of disabled people - and people with an interest in disability issues - are fully considered in the issues discussed. As a group we have previously responded to CPF papers on issues such as Disability and the impact of Covid19. When putting together our responses we engage with people in the following ways:
- Virtual meetings with our members and MPs and other Parliamentarians
- Members' Online surveys
- Discussions on our Members' only Facebook Group
- Engaging and holding virtual Q&A meetings with CDG member/s and external speakers on relevant issues
- Engaging with our network of Parliamentary supporters
- Collaborating with other groups in the Party with shared interests eg Conservative Health & the CPF
- Citing best practice and evidence of what is already working
We also ensure that the views in our responses are disseminated to the CDG's network of Parliamentary Champions and other supporters of the CDG across the UK.
We are particularly focused on ensuring that our responses are linked into our key policy priorities as group, including the importance of accessibility and our 'Accessible Politics' project to make our Politics, and the Conservative Party, more accessible for disabled people. We also ensure that our responses feed into our work to influence the contents of the Government's commitment to produce a National Disability Strategy.
Previous responses have contributed to success in some of our recent campaigning priorities as a group, leading to positive changes for disabled people. To find out more about these successes please visit the CDG Influence section of our website.
To find out more about how you can become involved in the CDG's CPF Group please contact our Policy Lead, Michelle Lowe.
