Conference season is a busy time in the political calendar as all of the UK’s major political parties leave Westminster to hold their party conferences. This is an opportunity for political parties to meet with their members, politicians and charities like us, to debate policies and lay out their party’s vision for the future. We attended the Liberal Democrat, Labour, Green and Reform conferences this year, speaking up for people living with lung conditions.
MPs understood our concerns and recognised the importance of our work
Party conferences offer the unique opportunity for charities like us to speak directly to the people making political decisions. We took the voices of people living with lung conditions directly to them to make it clear that there is important work that needs to be done to improve lung health. We talked about all things respiratory, spanning from the importance of clean air to the need for a national plan for lung health. Thanks to the support from people like you, who have taken action for lung health, many MPs understood our concerns and recognised the importance of our work. We were able to build on our established relationships and form new ones.
Amplifying the voices of people living with lung conditions
A lot of our partners were at the conference too, from climate groups and active travel groups to other charities such as Diabetes UK, Alzheimer's Research UK and Marie Curie. We attended events along with our partners, asking mayors and ministers how they could improve air quality in their area, and how they will be using scientific innovation to improve respiratory care.
Our CEO, Sarah Sleet, was able to amplify the voices of people living with lung conditions on the panels she spoke on. She talked about the importance of listening to patients’ voices on the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry panel, and the lack of public awareness of toxic air with the Labour Climate and Environment Forum panel. She also spoke on the panel for the Healthy Air Coalition.
What we learned at the party conferences
Speaking with other charities and medical organisations, we discussed how we envision respiratory healthcare being more community-driven. It was clear that councils can lead the way across issues such as clean air, but to do this they need direction from the government.
This is especially important because we know avoidable deaths from lung conditions are over 8 times higher in the most deprived areas in England than in the least deprived. This is why we will be pushing the Government to prioritise lung health in all corners of the UK, so that everyone is receiving equal and better respiratory care.
We achieved a lot at this year's conferences
- We raised awareness of the problems facing people living with lung conditions in conversations with decision makers. We spoke with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, as well as many other Labour Health Ministers, Liberal Democrat spokespeople for Health and Research and Select Committee Chairs.
- We also met with Reform’s policy team and Green Party leaders, including councillors who are working on addressing the environmental causes of toxic air.
- We joined with health charities to speak about why the government must address lung health if they truly wish to tackle health inequalities
We attended and spoke at panel and roundtable events, including as part of the Healthy Air Coalition, where we called for more to be done to clean up our air.
What’s next in our fight for lung health in the UK
We have set up lots of meetings in Westminster after the conference to continue to keep clean air and lung health on the agenda. We'll keep pushing so that everyone can breathe cleaner air and receive adequate care for their lung conditions. You can help us do this by keeping an eye out for our upcoming campaigns. We are asking people from across the country to raise their hands and tell the Government that they support the campaign for a national plan for lung health. We are going to take all of your voices to Parliament in February and show the Secretary of State that people from every corner of the UK are calling for better care for lung health.
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