A mum says it is “heartwarming” to have received more than 10,000 signatures to her petition after her children were denied a Blue Badge.
Sarah Johnson, from Meopham, made a plea on social media after the general election announcement scuppered her plans.
Her two-year-old daughters, Astrid and Iris, were diagnosed with cerebral palsy last July and struggle to walk.
Astrid uses a Kaye Walker but Iris chooses to walk independently, which means she falls over a lot and can only walk a few steps at a time.
Sarah decided to apply to Kent County Council for a Blue Badge but was told she did not meet the criteria.
Instead, she would need to wait until November – when the girls are three – before they could be assessed.
According to government guidelines, children below this age may be able to get a Blue Badge if they must always have medical equipment with them or be close to the vehicle in case of emergency.
The 41-year-old spoke to KentOnline in March detailing the daily issues she has to contend with.
“I was told they could use the buggy,” she said. “There is no mum in the world who takes their child to the park just to sit in their pram and look at the things they could play with.
“If I had a Blue Badge I would have the opportunity to park close to a playground and use the Kaye Walker to walk in and play on the equipment.
“They could enjoy the world rather than be a passive onlooker.”
The mum started a petition calling for the government to change its rules surrounding Blue Badges.
However, due to a general election being called on Thursday, July 4, all parliamentary business had to stop.
As a result, the petition will close on Thursday (30 May).
Last week Sarah posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, asking for more signatures as it was only at around 6,000.
“Because of the election my petition closes at the end of this month and it won’t reopen,” it said.
“I’m so upset as I don’t think I’ll get the number required for a response. This feels utterly fruitless all the effort for three months cut off.”
Sarah faces a constant struggle when parking without a Blue Badge and says that forcing her daughters to always use the pram is not helping their muscles develop.
“The other day we had to go to Bluewater before it actually opened,” she said.
“My husband and I had to go in separate cars because we can't fit the whole family in one.
“He managed to find two parent and child bays together, and so we had to coordinate by phone to get a space.”
With a Blue Badge Sarah believes she could park closer to places such as the park, swimming centre and doctors’ surgery – without having to lug a buggy and walker around.
After 10,000 signatures, any petition submitted will get a response from the government and after 100,000 it is considered for debate in parliament.
Just two days after her inital plea, Sarah announced that the number of signatures had reached more than 10,000.
“I really want to thank everyone who signed it,” she told KentOnline. “It was amazing and quite heartwarming.
“It shows that people see some of the challenges that parents with disabled children have. They see that it's unfair.
“I think realistically it's not going to make a difference to my family because the legislation isn't going to change at the moment.
“But I hope it will make a difference for other parents that are going to be in my position, especially those who have multiple children with disabilities.”
The mum also added that since her campaign, she has received a “huge amount” of parents and carers getting in touch.
“People have told me that it hasn’t changed in 20 years and that they had to really struggle,” she explained.
“It resonated significantly with lots of people. For me, politically, this is an easy win because it doesn't cost anything.
“It's not going to affect a huge amount of families, but it's going to make an inordinate difference to those families who can better access hospital appointments and things in the community.”
