She is full of praise for the parliamentary induction team, who provided her with assistance before she had recruited her own staff; party whips, who helped her secure an office close to the chamber; and the Speaker and deputy speakers.
Yet the best efforts of colleagues have not been enough to compensate for the many ways in which the U.K. parliament is forbidding for those with physical disabilities.
The Palace of Westminster, which experts estimate is laid out over about 60 different mismatched levels, is famously difficult to navigate.
Tidball recently invited a member of parliament’s restoration team to follow her on a journey between Portcullis House, a newer part of the building, and her office, using his closed fist to try to open doors — a standard accessibility test.
“By the end of it, he looked like he wanted to keel over,” she chuckles. “I’m happy to chain myself to the door handles in parliament if that gets the message across, but I’ve already had a conversation now with six senior people about door handles. That’s not a good use of my expertise and my time.”
It is not only moving around the building which poses challenges, however.
