Q&A: Olivia Blake MP
Disabled people have a new advocate in the House of Commons Q&A with Olivia Blake MP by Richard Rieser
Image: Olivia Blake MP, Chair of the APPG on SEND
Olivia Blake was elected as Labour Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam constituency at the 2019 election. During her 16 months in Parliament she’s been highly active and become a force to be reckoned with, including in her role as Chair of the SEND All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). Richard Rieser interviewed her for Inclusion Now Magazine and found out how her lived experience (Olivia identifies as Disabled and neuro-divergent, being Dyslexic and having a longterm metabolic condition), has impacted on her career.
The journey to Parliament Olivia gained her A-Levels at secondary school in the 2000s, when one would’ve expected schools and teachers to be vigilant for specific learning difficulties. However, she didn’t receive the necessary support to achieve the very high grades required for medical school (“Chemistry let me down”). So, Olivia opted for Microbiology, later going into NHS research. Olivia was not identified as Dyslexic until University and so got no reasonable adjustments at school. Meanwhile coming from a Labour family (her mother was the Labour Leader of Leeds Council), Olivia is a socialist and deeply committed on green issues, equality, workers’ rights and challenging austerity. Olivia ran for Sheffield Council and was elected as a Councillor in 2013. On the Council, she successfully pushed to bring services back in-house from poor privatised ones, pushed for a Local Living Wage, had the brief Children and Young People and became Deputy Leader with a Finance Brief, before being elected an MP. 1. Richard Rieser (RR): What led you to be a fighter for social justice?
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