We held a general Election Campaigning Webinar on Tuesday evening.
You can watch the event on our YouTube channel.
Thank you so much those of you who joined us - I hope you agree that it was an informative and constructive event with plenty to ponder and plenty to do ahead of July 4th.
We have held virtual campaigning events before but, buoyed by the success of this one ,we are full of ideas to takes these virtual campaigning events forward when we get back to the new normality following the election. We will also make the events accessible to you after the the event on our You Tube channel.
As always any feedback gratefully and thoughtfully received.
Brain Tumour Research was delighted to welcome 12 of our Member Charities to a workshop in Milton Keynes on Wednesday. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about each other and share ideas and experiences, as well as how we could help each other. And great to welcome and get to know the delegates from two new Member Charities: NF2 BioSolutions and Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity
I was delighted to give a presentation on our campaigning achievements of the past year before looking ahead to the General Election and what we can achieve with the new Government.
Having looked at the health related manifesto pledges from three political parties last week, this week Thomas has been looking at others involved in the competition to represent us in the House of Commons.
From the SNP manifesto we read;
- The SNP wants to stand up for the NHS workforce and call for the reversal of moves to stop care workers from overseas bringing their families with them to work in the UK.
- It will match Scotland's NHS pay deals by increasing investment in NHS England staff pay and conditions by at least £6bn.
Whilst in the Green Party manifesto we were told;
- The Green Party intends to attract the best researchers for our universities, the top talent for our start-ups and to welcome those who come to work in our health and social services.
- It will also seek to expand diagnostic capacity in communities. This would help to ensure people are diagnosed early and have more chance of a positive outcome.
Reform UK's position is that;
- Reform UK will use independent healthcare capacity to harness independent and not-for-profit health provision in the UK and overseas.
- It will offer tax relief of 20% on all private healthcare and insurance.
Whereas for Plaid Cymru they commit to;
- Plaid Cymru will increase Government investment in Research and Development. It would seek to devolve Wales’s share of UK Research and Innovation expenditure and for a block grant to be allocated based on population, and overseen rigorously to ensure Wales’s continued role as a producer of leading internationally recognised research with impact on life in Wales and beyond.
- It believes that we should move public health towards becoming a wellness service that is geared towards keeping people healthy.
This week, Thomas attended Cancer52’s Big Conversation. Cancer52 is an alliance of over 100 organisations, united in improving the future for everyone affected by rare and less common cancers.
The Big Conversation provided an excellent opportunity to engage with charity colleagues and to reach out to industry professionals.
There were panel discussions on the power of collaboration, an interview with Chris Carragan about the power of data, and a discussion capturing the themes of the event.
Gail Jackson, CEO, Solving Kid’s Cancer UK, said that children’s and young people’s cancer is often invisible. She cited four areas for improvement:
- Improve the standard of care available to children’s and young people.
- Improve the levels of understanding of primary care professionals.
- Provide financial support for families. Across the UK, there are only 20 centres where children can be treated.
- Last and by no means least, work together to innovate new drugs for children and young people.
Brain Tumour Research supports the Children and Young People’s 10 Year Cancer Plan, which urges the Government to ensure timely diagnosis, deliver world class treatment, build world class research and ensure quality survivorship. The 10 Year Cancer Plan can be viewed here.
Athena Laminisos, CEO, The Eve Appeal, said more knowledge and awareness was needed on genomics. This included improving the public’s trust in vital health data.
Separately Athena spoke to Thomas about the importance of the way we talk about cancer. She said: “We shouldn’t use war metaphors! Battling, fighting, winning all suggest that individuals can overcome it by force and will, which is simply not true.”
Sharon Deveson Kell, Policy and Medical Affairs, Action Kidney Cancer, spoke about clinical trials. She said there is still a lot of work to do, to increase awareness of clinical trials. She said that:
- Patient organisations needed to provide more support and information regarding clinical trials.
- Government needed to stop the postcode as to where clinical trials are completed.
- There needed to be more communication between sites, ensuring that patients are given the opportunity to participate in clinical trials.
Clinical trials are central to Brain Tumour Research’s manifesto. Brain Tumour Research is asking for:
- The doubling of the annual research spend across adult and paediatric brain tumours from the 20/21 total of £17.6 million1 to £35 million per year by 2028.
- The development of a roadmap for full national deployment of the £40 million research funds made available in 2018, in partnership with Brain Tumour Research.
- The increased participation of adult and paediatric brain tumour patients in clinical trials.
The final segment of the event was devoted to Jane Lyons, who recently announced that she’ll be stepping down as CEO of Cancer52. Jane said: “This is au revoir not adieu.” Thomas said: “We would like to express our sincere thanks for the great work Jane has done over the years, fighting the corner for rare and less common cancers.”
PS We’re pleased to share this link to the Cancer52 patient survey: https://bit.ly/C52survey
This week we joined One Cancer Voice, an alliance of cancer charities that we have played a leading role in, calling on all political parties to commit to supporting a long-term cancer strategy to improve cancer outcomes in England.
People affected by cancer need a plan
You can watch the video we made to support this on our Facebook page.
So in person at a workshop, on line with a webinar or with a social media video - our campaigning goes on and is reaching an election crescendo - join us now and get our manifesto into the hands of those who seek to represent you - and then send us the photos!
Thanks for all you have done, are doing and will do.
There will be the usual campaigning update next Friday.
Wishing you all a peaceful time until then.
Hugh and Thomas