Beyond words: Building Alliances at the Party Conferences

Another General Election, a new Prime Minister, yet the same Breast Cancer UK Public Affairs team, and we’ve got conference season to attend to! 

What is Party Conference Season? 

“Party Conference Season” describes three weeks in autumn when UK political parties meet to discuss internal business, debate policy positions, and launch campaigns. For the Conservatives, it was a time for members to campaign for their next party leader. A significant difference from the Liberal Democrats, who welcomed Ed Davey into the conference by jet ski. Yes, really. Each party conference runs for around three days, but a lot can be done and said in those three days. 

Not only is it important for each political party, but the conference season offers opportunities for non-governmental organisations (NGOs), like us, to engage with MPs and House of Lords Peers directly.  

Some NGOs may hold a stall for people to come up and chat with them. Others may host events or receptions, inviting MPs or Peers to speak on a particular topic. Some organisations are more flexible and see who they run into on the day. With so many options, it’s like a big game of conference-themed chess. 

The Labour Conference  

As the new majority in Parliament, it’s not surprising that Labour’s conference was one of celebration for its members. The reality now is that Labour are in power and there were plenty of suggestions for what they could achieve. It kickstarted with fellow NGO CHEMTrust hosting a discussion on future UK-EU collaboration and how it could influence environmental protection. Still, the Government’s reluctance to commit to alignment was slightly concerning.  

Our Head of Public Affairs and Campaigns – Gareth, seized the opportunity to speak about breast cancer on the Pesticide Collaboration’s panel on the health impact of pesticides. As I sat in the back and watched, the Q&A highlighted that public awareness of harmful chemicals such as pesticides remains limited, and we’ve got a lot of work to do to advocate for this issue even further. 

Events such as these inform us of the likely priority for the party over the next year. For Labour and health, the key takeaway seemed to be introducing AI, bringing care closer to home and putting prevention first. A word and phrase we love to hear.  

In conversation with Baroness Merron (Minister for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health), a revamped Women’s Health Strategy is potentially on the table. There was also plenty of James Bond-style language, with the Government hoping to transition into a “mission-driven” model to focus on long-term objectives. 

“Now is the time to improve our lifespan in good health (jokingly) beyond death.” Andrew Gwynne MP (Minister for Public Health and Prevention) 

The Conservative Conference 

Understandably, the atmosphere at the Conservative conference was less optimistic, having suffered one of the party’s largest parliamentary defeats in July. However, their slogan at the entrance “Review and Rebuild” suited nicely. The focus was on trying to understand what went wrong this General Election, with leadership contenders hoping to provide the answers. Although this left much less space for health and the environment discussions than Labour, they still had a (albeit smaller) place at the conference dinner table.  

Despite some mention of NHS reform, obesity and nutrition were, without doubt, the stars of the show. With similarities mentioned in the role of industry and the types of interventions needed, it was a rare chance to witness cohesion in political ideas between the two rival parties. The Conservative conference also brought the next generation into the conversation, with Biteback’s panel on the food system emphasising the youth’s concern with the food industry’s “deny, dilute and delay” tactics on unhealthy food messaging. It’s fantastic to see young minds fired up with political passion.  

Our Breast Cancer Champions 

We can’t talk about conference season without our honorary mentions of our new breast cancer champions. We had some great opportunities to meet with Helen Grant (MP for Maidstone and Malling). As well as Patrick Hurley (MP for Southport) over coffee. Helen shared her own breast cancer journey, and how physical activity helped her process her diagnosis and supported her wellbeing. Patrick was concerned to hear of how 400 men in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer per year. We are delighted to be working with both to bring Breast Cancer UK’s voice into Westminster and raise awareness for breast cancer prevention. 

So, what’s next? 

Conference season is always an opportunity for us to build our relationships and meet with like-minded organisations and politicians for health improvement in the UK. Personally, my nerdy enthusiasm for health policy has been boosted and my understanding of what lies ahead in government has been clarified. Breast Cancer UK may resultingly be joining a new collaboration. Which would no doubt boost our voice and help us towards preventing breast cancer cases and raising awareness of our Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) campaign.  

If you’d like to get involved yourself, why not sign our pledge to ban them available here.

Across both party conferences, cancer had little mention specifically. It is pretty evident that bringing care into the community, addressing health inequalities, and all things prevention are the go-to headlines. But let’s hope following conference season, we start to see less rhetoric and more action.  

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