Last week I received the sad news that David Hart, who had long been suffering from terminal cancer, had died. The news was also reported in the South London Press on Friday. David, was a seasoned activist in Lambeth for the rights of disabled people and for tenants and I had known him well for several years. We first encountered each other when he was a trustee of Transport for All, and I was working there. He later went on to become Chair, subsequently standing down as a trustee. We worked together on the campaign on Patient Transport when Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital Trust were refusing transport to holders of disabled persons' Taxicards and he was also active in the campaign against the large increase in council rents in Lambeth.
While standing in the Princes Ward by-election in June, David attended the hustings organised by the Lambeth Disability Forum, where he was a committee member and almost came to blows after the meeting with Lorna Campbell, the Labour Executive Member for Health and Social Care, as he refused to accept some of her statements. Never one to suffer fools gladly or to accpet spin, he was always at the forefront of struggle, despite his poor health. David was a journalist and had worked for The Times. An interview with him was recently published in the paper. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6789872.ece?token=null&offset=48&page=5
You can judge his fighting spirit by the article.
The last time I saw him was outside a polling station during the by-election, when he was with Ros Munday, the Tenants Council Chair, who was a close friend and carer. David was always determined to fight for the rights of marginalised people and particularly those of disabled people in Lambeth. He will be missed.
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