This work details the discrimination faced by disabled people in Britain in terms of the social system. Previous reports have dwelt on the individual's problems, eg access to public buildings, whereas this study outlines, often using official statistics, the denial to disabled people of full and equal access to the institutions of society. The author argues that disablity is a civil rights issue, not one of service provision and community care, and that only disabled people themselves can bring about the changes enabling them to become fully participating citizens.