6 h. ago Chris McCausland: Seeing into the Future – an astonishing look at how tech is changing disabled people’s lives

Prepare to have your perspective shattered by the comedian’s visits to our US tech overlords. The upcoming advancements for those with disabilities are life-changingWashing machines liberated women to get soul-crushing jobs that ate up their free time. Social media gave the world one revolution – before it destabilised democracies everywhere else. Now AI is here, and its main job seems to be replacing screenwriters. It’s easy to fall into techno-pessimism, but new documentary Seeing into the Future (Sunday 23 November, 8pm, BBC Two) has a different angle. For disabled people, tech has already brought about life-changing advancements. And we haven’t seen anything yet.It is presented by comedian and Strictly winner Chris McCausland, who is blind. Some of the most casually astonishing scenes occur early on, showing how he uses his phone – essentially, an eye with a mouth. “What T-shirt is this?” he asks, holding up a garment. “A grey T-shirt with a graphic logo of Deftones,” his p...

Politics

47 h. ago Chris McCausland’s fascinating blindness documentary challenges even the most ardent AI sceptics

Comedian and ‘Strictly’ star’s new one-off show, ‘Seeing into the Future’, sees him explore mindblowing new technologies that could change his life, writes Rachel McGrath

Politics

52 h. ago Chris McCausland’s fascinating blindness documentary challenges even the most ardent AI skeptics

Comedian and ‘Strictly’ star’s new one-off show, ‘Seeing into the Future’, sees him explore mind-blowing new technologies that could change his life, writes Rachel McGrath

Politics

68 h. ago European Commission accused of ‘massive rollback’ of digital protections

Proposed changes to AI Act would make it easier for tech firms to use personal data to train models without consentThe European Commission has been accused of “a massive rollback” of the EU’s digital rules after announcing proposals to delay central parts of the Artificial Intelligence Act and water down its landmark data protection regulation.If agreed, the changes would make it easier for tech firms to use personal data to train AI models without asking for consent, and try to end “cookie banner fatigue” by reducing the number times internet users have to give their permission to being tracked on the internet. Continue reading...

Events

68 h. ago Government responds to calls to introduce free bus travel for one group across England

Currently, only disabled people and people of state pension age qualify for free bus travel under the The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme

Politics

7 d. ago Chris McCausland: ‘My most embarrassing moment? Going into an undertaker’s thinking it was a barber’s’

The comedian on his geeky teenage years, cheating in an exam and why Strictly is his biggest achievementBorn in Liverpool, Chris McCausland, 48, became a software engineer before losing his sight in his 20s due to a genetic disorder. Forced to change careers, he worked in sales before turning to standup comedy in 2003. In 2024, he took part in Strictly Come Dancing and won. His waltz with professional Dianne Buswell was awarded the memorable moment Bafta in 2025. This year, he added more than 100 new dates to his theatre tour Yonks!, which runs until May 2026, and he has just published a memoir called Keep Laughing. He is married with one child and lives in London.When were you happiest? My college years when I was 17 to 19, before the responsibilities of adulthood, just doing the things that I was good at and liked – computers, maths, further maths (I was a geek). Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago New calls for better wages and quality of work for people with a disability

The earnings gap between disabled and non-disabled workers across the UK is around £2.24 an hour.

Politics

1 week ago Older people without a Blue Badge may be able to use disabled parking spaces

Pension age disability benefits do not include a mobility element which can act as a passport to the Blue Badge or Motability schemes.

Politics

1 week ago Disabled people effectively stop earning from today due to pay gap

The disability pay gap has slightly decreased from last year, but more still needs to be done, the government has been warned

Politics

1 week ago Scottish social justice secretary urges Chancellor not to slash Motability car scheme

SNP’s Shirley-Anne Somerville writes to UK ministers warning them not to balance the books at the expense of disabled people.

Society

1 week ago ‘Everyone said it was impossible’: disabled hikers find freedom through off

Using an all-terrain vehicle that’s essentially the Jeep of wheelchairs, a New York tour group helps disabled people get on the trailFormer firefighter Gina Kothe’s right foot was crushed in an aerial-ladder accident during a 2010 blaze in Kingston, New York.After months of false hope and a failed surgery, doctors decided her foot would have to be amputated. She fell into depression. “I had a slight addiction to painkillers,” she recalled. “I would shower every three or four days, and wear the same barbecue-stained T-shirt for two or three days in a row.” Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Disabled people who want to work say they can’t due to ‘chronically underfunded’ welfare system and accessibility issues

Author of major review on how to keep people in work warns UK is ‘sliding into avoidable crisis’ amid ‘enormous’ cost to employers from ill health among workers

Economics

2 w. ago Carmakers warn UK crackdown on Motability scheme will hit sales

Programme helps fund vehicles for disabled people

Events

2 w. ago Almost HALF of young people not working or studying are classed as 'disabled' after a huge rise in mental health diagnoses

Some 45.8 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) were classed as disabled last year - up by 24.3 percentage points in a decade.

Events

3 w. ago BBC Strictly Come Dancing winner Chris McCausland makes 'terrifying' admission about show

Chris McCausland, who won Strictly Come Dancing last year, has admitted that he knew "nothing" about the BBC series before he signed up

Events

3 w. ago Chris McCausland "knew nothing" about Strictly Come Dancing when he signed up

Former Strictly Come Dancing winner Chris McCausland has discussed the 'terrifying' experience of taking part in the BBC show

Politics

3 w. ago Strictly star Chris McCausland heartbreakingly recalls moment his daughter said he was 'broken' as she recognised his blindness

The comedian, 47, hasn't been able to see since his early 20s when he lost his sight due to a hereditary condition called retinitis pigmentosa.

Politics

3 w. ago Strictly's Chris McCausland reveals he 'knew nothing' about BBC series in 'terrifying' admission

Chris and Dianne Buswell were crowned the winners of the last season of the BBC dancing competition

Events

3 w. ago Strictly winner Chris McCausland's heartbreak after daughter's 'broken' comment

Comedian Chris McCausland, who was crowned winner of Strictly Come Dancing in 2020, has opened up about the 'guilt' he felt at the thought of his daughter Sophie being blind

Politics

3 w. ago New DWP update on plans for full review of PIP before next Autumn

The DWP has announced that disabled people will shape the Timms Review into PIP.

Politics