Campaigning
Our work with politicians
Policies in every nation need to reflect the needs of people with spinal cord injuries, so we work closely with politicians in the UK Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly to influence these policies.
We do this through:
- One-to-one meetings with politicians and other policy makers.
- Producing briefings on policies affecting people with spinal cord injuries.
- Working in coalition with other groups to lobby.
- Administering and working closely with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for spinal cord injury in Westminster.
From our what matters survey the spinal cord injury community has told us that current gaps in treatment, care, finances and support are some of the burning issues that need acting on. We’re calling on political parties to listen to us so we can help to shape their policies for the future.
All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Spinal Cord Injury, Westminster
We work with a cross-party group of parliamentarians who are committed to tackling issues that affect people with spinal cord injuries. The group is made up of MPs and peers from all parties who help to make sure spinal cord issues are high on the government’s agenda.
Andy McDonald, MP for Middlesbrough, is chair of the group and has a keen interest in spinal injuries due to having a spinal unit in his constituency.
Alongside MPs we have healthcare professionals, charitable organisations, and individuals with spinal cord injuries regularly attending strengthening our recommendations.
During 2023 the APPG will spotlight some of the challenges people with spinal cord injuries face today, and the opportunities presented by cutting edge research into the future.
If you would like to know more please contact our campaigns manager Dharshana Sridhar or our parliamentary and public affairs coordinator Glyn Hayes on [email protected]
Chair and Co-chair
Chair: Andy McDonald MP Independent
Andy was elected on 29 November 2012 and is an Independent MP for Middlesbrough.
Co-chair: Chris Stephens MP Scottish Nationalist Party
Chris was elected on 7 May 2015 as the Scottish National Party MP for Glasgow South West.
Co-chair: Helen Morgan MP
Helen was elected on 16 December 2021 as the Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire.
Co-chair: Ben Everitt MP Conservative
Ben was elected on December 2019 as the Conservative MP for Milton Keynes North.
Officers
Officer Rob Butler MP Conservative
Rob was elected on 12 December 2019 as the Conservative MP for Aylesbury.
Officer: Margaret Greenwood MP Labour
Margaret was elected on May 2015 as the Labour MP for Wirral West.
Photo credit to Parliament.uk under the creative commons licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Members
Gill Furniss MP, Mark Tami MP, Dawn Butler MP, Lord Allan, Baroness Hollins, Bob Blackman, Lord Hunt, Paul Bristow, Teresa May, Lady Finlay, Andrew Selous, Nick Fletcher, Marsha De Cordova, Julie Elliot, Richard Burdon, Andy Slaughter.
Agenda and minutes
Here you can download the agenda and minutes from previous meetings. Just click on the buttons below.
AGM, Monday 27 November 2023
Meeting, Wednesday 8 November 2023
November agendaNovember minutes
You can also watch the Wednesday 8 November 2023 meeting on YouTube.