UK think tank urges rail firms to ensure good disabled access
Rail operators that fail to make their services accessible to customers with disabilities should be divested of franchises, according to a report from Conservative think tank Bright Blue. The report includes approximately 70 recommendations relating to human rights and discrimination after Brexit. Other suggestions include the classification of offences resulting from misogyny as hate crimes, increased police diversity and the sacking of chief police officers if stop and search numbers are not reduced. The report also recommends gender-blind recruitment for the civil service and the scrapping of employers national insurance contributions for disabled workers earning less than £850 per week.

The protection of human rights has been a defining and fundamental part of British society for centuries. However, among a significant proportion of the population, human rights currently have a bad reputation, especially among Conservative voters, decision makers, and opinion formers.



Bright Blue’s human rights project, so far, has explored how conservatives can think about human rights in a positive way that draws on conservative traditions of individual freedom and empowerment



But, crucial to the modern debate about human rights, is also the issue of tackling discrimination. Discrimination is, like the abuse of human rights, an unjustified barrier to individual freedom. Our project has therefore given significant attention to measures designed to tackle discrimination.



Tackling discrimination should be comfortable territory for Conservatives; unfair barriers that prevent humans from flourishing should be removed. Indeed, tackling discrimination has been a significant focus for the current Conservative Government, with the Prime Minister highlighting the “burning injustices” that prevent people from certain social groups succeeding.

