·        500,000 people with learning disabilities in England who have capacity to vote are not voting. That’s more than half of all people with learning disabilities

Local MP Michael Foster attended the “Every Vote Counts” campaign launch in the House of Commons this week. The campaign by the disability charity United Response explores why so many people with learning disabilities are excluded from the democratic process and revealed that as few as 16% of people with learning disabilities – many in Hastings and Rye - voted in the last election, compared with a national turnout of 61%.

It urges all political parties to engage with the hundreds of thousands of voters with learning disabilities who are eligible to vote, but do not; particularly important when a low turnout rate is a major concern for all political parties.

The report is the culmination of a three-year project and aims to increase voter turnout among people with learning disabilities to at least 40% and for all main political parties to provide manifestos which are in a format that is easy to understand for people with learning disabilities.

A website was also launched – www.everyvotecounts.org.uk – which includes easy-read explanations of democracy and voting for people with learning disabilities. It also includes a five point guide for MPs hoping to make their own information more accessible.

Michael Foster MP said:

“Voting is a Democratic right. Given the approaching election this was a timely event. It’s tragic that some people with learning disabilities feel excluded from democracy because they are unaware of their right to vote or find the system complex. They are missing out on their say in the future of the country. I hope this campaign will encourage more people to vote.”

Su Sayer, Chief executive of United Response said:

“People with learning disabilities are affected by decisions made at a national and local level in the same way as everyone else. Yet information about the democratic process is often presented in a way which is confusing and full of jargon. As a result, many people who would like to vote currently find themselves excluded, something we hope this campaign will change during the 2010 election and beyond.”