I’m a 24 year old woman who has been disabled since a child and suffered with chronic illness since the age of 15. Life has been incredibly hard for me. I’ve spent 10/11 years in hospital, including 8 surgeries, multiple forms of testing, treatments and hundreds if not thousands of appointments. I suffer with a long list of issues, including:

•miserable malalignment syndrome

•Ehlers Danlos syndrome (hEDS)

•fibromyalgia

•poTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome)

•endometriosis,

and many many related  comorbid conditions, disorders and issues. (My Mental or neurodivergence disorders have not been listed) Since a young age I have been subjected to the harsh truth of how difficult life really can be. Unfortunately a lot of the uk do not understand the Impact of the challenges people like myself face. 

Here in the UK, disabled and sick people who cannot work for health reasons are subjected to multiple unfair treatment and conditions. As a disabled and sick person , I cannot work. If I am to move in with a spouse, my universal credit is automatically cut because of my spouses income, and/ or we are forced to go on a joint universal credit claim. In 2026, disabled people should not be made to feel like we are not allowed to live with a partner, especially because we are already vulnerable.

Disabled people are also at twice the rate of suffering abuse than a normal person. Financial abuse is made extremely easy when finances are forced to be shared.

Financial dependency on one partner is wrong, and sick and disabled people should be allowed to live life without having to lean completely on their partner. Many disabled people can never move in with or marry a partner because of these unfair laws. It is 2026, and this needs to change. 

Allow us disabled and sick people to have our own financial independence and to live with and marry a partner. Joint claims for people who are already less off is extremely wrong, and for circumstances like these, it shouldn’t be based on household income. Disabled people who can’t work are still people and therefore still deserve their own finances and independence.

Disabled people already face higher billed lifestyles. Examples can include:

• spending more on food, pre-made or take away when one cannot prepare for themselves.

•higher gas and electricity bills.

•medications, pharmaceutical or shop bought when not provided.

•mobility aids such as scooters, wheelchairs, crutches, rollators, and so on. 

•higher cost in taxis or bus fares when unable to drive.

•having to pay for carers, cleaners or any other service. 

when a disabled lifestyle is so expensive and we automatically get less, a lot of us are struggling badly. Financial independence is extremely important, and we as human beings should be allowed to experience life and love the way everyone else does. 

the one reminder I can give is that anyone of you at any point can be hit by a car and left disabled, or suffer a non curable illness which stops your ability to work. At that point in your life, would you feel comfortable losing all or part of your financial independence, having to constantly rely on a partner? Or to risk having to live in separate properties and give up your home together just so your finances are not cut? 

the more signatures the better. 
thank you for reading, and I really hope there is understanding.