You're correct about becoming an independent developer though. This whole experience made me realise that needs to be my goal if the tech industry can toss me aside at a moment's notice. I need a job to do that safely though. It's too risky on its own.
Edit: was speaking from a US perspective before realizing you were in the UK, but would be surprised if you didn’t have even better protections
Extra edit: this hit the front page a while back about a blind developers dev setup: https://www.vincit.com/blog/software-development-450-words-p... it may be outdated at this point but maybe worth reaching out for best practices these days?
My current problem is different: getting interviews at all.
Wishing your best of luck on your search in any case.