MPs have risked the wrath of constituents by revealing they are likely to judge people by the shoes they wear.
Conservative MPs are four times more likely to judge a person by the shoes that they wear than Labour MPs.
The poll, conducted by YouGov, found that 42% of Conservative MPs said they would judge a person by the shoes that they wear, compared to just 9% of Labour MPs.
Overall, around a quarter of all MPs (23%) from across Parliament admitted that they would judge a person by the shoes that they wore.
Charity Hft asked YouGov to question politicians to mark the one-year anniversary of their Walk In Our Shoes campaign. The campaign calls on MPs to spend more time with adults with learning disabilities to find out more about the issues that matter to them.
On 7 June 2018, members of the charity’s Voices to Be Heard group delivered a pair of custom-made shoes to 10 Downing Street for Prime Minister Theresa May, decorated with faces of people supported by Hft. Since then, the charity has hosted several MPs at their services across the country.
Billy Davis, Public Affairs and Policy Manager at Hft, commented:
Around a quarter of MPs say they will use a person’s shoes to make a judgement about them before they get to know them. People with learning disabilities often feel that decisions are made about them without consulting them. This is why Hft launched the Walk In Our Shoes campaign, to give the people we support a platform to have their voices heard.
Whether their favourite shoes are kitten heels or flip-flops, we call on MPs of all political parties to try a new pair on for size and walk in the shoes of people with learning disabilities to find out more about the issues that matter to them.
For more information about learning disabilities, please visit www.hft.org.uk/resources-and-
Image: Hft