Taking the Manifesto for Cancer Research & Care to party conferences

Earlier this year, we announced work on our Manifesto for Cancer Research & Care– a blueprint made up of clear, actionable long-term policies to transform cancer outcomes for people across the UK.

We want the major political parties to include our evidence-based policies in their manifestos ahead of the next General Election, to help make sure that cancer is a top priority for the next government.

Which is why in September, our Public Affairs team took the Manifesto to political party conferences in a bid to influence MPs and make sure that cancer sits at the heart of the political agenda.

Ian Caleb, public affairs manager, gives a behind the scenes look at the Manifesto at the Liberal Democrat, Conservative and Labour party conferences – and how the team are getting Cancer Research UK’s policies heard.

It’s the time of year again when the Public Affairs team forfeits their lives for a few weeks to head to the conference halls of Bournemouth, Manchester and Liverpool.

This time, the Manifesto for Cancer Research & Care was on the agenda as we tried to get the Lib Dems, Conservatives and Labour excited for our roadmap to beat cancer. With 18,000 delegates at the Labour event alone, it’s always a challenge to stand out in the crowd…

…which is why we take a stand! This year, the IMAXT team from Cancer Grand Challenges were on hand to help walk parliamentarians, councillors, metro mayors and delegates through a ‘virtual lab’, explore tumours and data in 3D and show how technology and innovation could be a game-changer for how we understand and treat cancer.

We’re lucky at CRUK that so many people want to come say hello, and it’s always a privilege to hear personal stories from members of the public whose families have been affected, or whose loved ones have been saved thanks to the progress we’ve made.

We spoke to more than 100 senior politicians across the conferences, with many of the big hitters making their way to our stand.

It’s not just the programme of stand visits, meetings and randomly chasing key targets down the corridor while wildly waving prop cigarette packets at them (I can neither confirm nor deny this happened in 2022). We want to be thought leaders, too, and this meant Owen Jackson, our Director of Policy, and Shaun Walsh, Head of Public Affairs and Campaigning, found their way onto more than half a dozen fringe events, getting in front of decision makers and making sure our policies were getting heard.