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Reeves Speech Conference 2025

An Invisible Workforce 
How Labour’s “Working People” Rhetoric Erases Disabled Voters

If you did see Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ keynote speech at the Labour conference in Liverpool, you’d be forgiven for thinking Britain runs on a very specific type of person. 

The words “working people,” “working class families,” and “hardworking people” were repeated a staggering 34 times.

But for a significant part of the population, the speech wasn't just repetitive—it was a slap in the face. Not once did the Chancellor mention accessible work for disabled adults or young people. Not a single reference to reasonable adjustments. No plan for those with fluctuating conditions, mobility barriers, or neurodivergence.

In short, it was an act of erasure.

Instead, we got productivity rhetoric and a Youth Guarantee scheme that, frankly, sends a chill down the spine. The scheme threatens benefit sanctions for those who “refuse” work placements, with no apparent regard for how disability might make such a placement impossible. This isn’t an oversight; it’s a policy. When a government talks about work but systematically excludes disabled people from the conversation, it’s not neglect—it’s a choice.

And what a bitter, unforgivable choice it is.

The real kicker? Disabled people and their families are the very group that helped put this government in power. Labour’s 2024 election victory was significantly bolstered by support from disabled voters, many living in the party’s heartlands. Places like Telford were crucial to their success. Now, those same voters are watching as their new government, which they trusted to fix a broken system, immediately starts drawing lines that leave them outside.

This puts local MPs like Telford’s Shaun Davies in a glaring spotlight. Despite eloquent lobbying from his own constituents, backed by damning evidence from the likes of Amnesty International and the UN, Davies has categorically backed his government’s policy over the needs of the town's disabled population.

He might want to check the recent polls. A YouGov survey from June 2025 already shows a notable defection of voters from Labour, with dissatisfaction running high among those who feel betrayed on key issues. The message is clear: the loyalty of disabled voters and their families is not a given.

So, we’re left with a painful question for Mr. Davies: will losing his seat because he failed to stand up for the disabled people, families, and carers of Telford be worth his lofty promotion to an unpaid bag carrier? Will he go down in history as Telford's first single-term MP? Even the awful Conservative Lucy Allen managed three terms.

We deserve better than being invisible in speeches and punished in practice. If Labour’s vision of “hard work” doesn’t include us, then it’s not a vision—it’s a warning. And it’s one that voters will not forget.
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