Tribute by Tony Baldwinson

John showed us a new meaning to the idea of care.

Path finder

John seemed like a pioneer to me, but not the kind who plants a flag and claims the territory for himself. He was a pioneer in the sense of opening paths and then inviting others to travel with him. From his lived experience of institutional living and then self-directed support, he helped build the very foundations of what we now take for granted as the movement for and concept of ‘independent living.’ Yet he never treated it as his private achievement. For John, freedom was a collective endeavour.

Bridge builder

What also impressed me was how he chose his battles. He believed in campaigning NGOs, user-led groups and networks but he understood that real change for disabled people would be messy, negotiated, sometimes incremental, and that it required coalitions wider than any one organisation. In that way he modelled a politics of ‘rebellious cooperation’ rather than conformity. People close to John could see the cost he paid for some of those battles; he kept that side private but he could be hurt just like the rest of us.

Curiosity

Another part of John that people sometimes missed was his spiritual life. Before his accident he had lived with a Sufi group and been involved in peace work. That openness stayed with him. It gave him a quiet steadiness and a willingness to see the dignity in others’ inner worlds as well as their rights in the outer world. Even when he was making hard arguments about direct payments, co-production or European policy, there was always a trace of that wider horizon — a sense that independence was about more than services, it was about meaning.

Humanity

At the heart of everything John did was humanity. He spoke of independent living not as a policy fix but as a basic human right. He built organisations, chaired boards, advised governments, but he never lost sight of the people those structures were meant to serve. He made space for new leaders, shared knowledge freely, and stayed approachable even as his reputation grew.

In remembering John I think we should recognise not only his achievements but also his ways of working: he was collaborative, non-sectarian, spiritually curious and relentlessly focused on human dignity. He showed that you can be radical without being dogmatic, and that empowerment can itself be a radical form of care. His legacy isn’t a monument; it’s an invitation to keep extending the path he opened.

Tony Baldwinson

 

Lorraine, Tony and John in Tenerife, April 2016