Hello everyone,
To round off our activity during Conference season, Jana and Katherine attended the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester this week. They met with the Shadow Health team and sat down with Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Stuart Andrew MP (below right), who has recently taken up the post. Given his previous career working in the third sector, Stuart was delighted to hear about our campaigning priorities and how we may support his work holding the government to account on health-related issues. His fellow Shadow Health team, both of whom are doctors – Dr Caroline Johnson MP and Dr Luke Evans MP – were also engaged with our policies and expressed a genuine enthusiasm for working with the health charity sector, particularly in building cross-party consensus on the importance of prioritising research and improving health outcomes for brain tumour patients.
It was a pleasure to see familiar faces such as John Hayes MP, a long-standing supporter of Brain Tumour Research, whose continued advocacy is deeply valued. The team was also grateful to meet new allies, including Desmond Swayne MP, who was shocked to learn that brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under the age of 40.
We were encouraged to connect with other MPs from medical backgrounds like Dr Ben Spencer MP, whose clinical experience brings valuable insight into the challenges faced by patients with brain tumours and the urgent need for improved treatment options. It was also reassuring to see Mims Davies MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales and an Officer of the APPG on brain tumours, lending her voice as a familiar and supportive presence within our network of parliamentary champions. Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, Andrew Bowie MP, was not aware of our Centre of Excellence in Scotland and has asked for us to take him on a tour with his neighbouring MP Harriet Cross, whom we met at the Scottish Conservatives Reception, as well as John Lamont MP, a new ally who was interested in hearing about our work.
Alongside Cancer Research UK, we attended the Health Innovation Showcase, which was supported by Stuart Andrew MP, who was glad to see us again. This was the highlight of the Conservative Party Conference: a room full of health charities working in collaboration with a shared commitment to advancing research and improving outcomes for brain tumour patients, people living with rare cancers and neurological degenerative diseases. We look forward to continuing these conversations and ensuring that the priorities of the brain tumour community are heard across all sides of the Chamber.
This week we have been planning for the AGM and the next meeting of the APPG on brain tumours.
We need at least eight politicians in the room at the start for the meeting to be quorate, which will mean being able to conduct the official business of an AGM. Thanks to you, we have a loyal band of political stakeholders who are always supportive when able, but we do need to add new members and grow the group. So, this weekend, please could you all email your MP using the template below and, as always, please Cc me hugh@braintumourresearch.org.
Subject: APPG on Brain Tumours 21st October 18:00 Committee Room 17, HoC
Dear [Your MP],
The APPG on brain tumours will meet on Tuesday, 21st October at 18:00 in Committee Room 17 of HoC.
I have Cc’d Hugh Adams from the charity Brain Tumour Research – the group’s secretariat provider.
Hugh will provide you with an agenda and a briefing document ahead of the meeting.
I very much hope that you will be able to be there on the 21st – this is a cause of great importance to me and your support would be hugely appreciated.
Kind Regards,
[Your Name]
[Your Postcode]
Many of you will have done this before, so please do so again, and if you haven’t then please do so for the first time. Nearly all the MPs currently engaged with our APPG have done so because they were approached by a constituent Brain Tumour Research campaigner.
A £70 million investment has been announced to speed up the development of a promising new treatment for glioblastoma and other aggressive solid tumours, such as colorectal cancer liver metastases.
The funding has been raised by Trogenix Ltd, a biotech company co-founded by Professor Steve Pollard (above), Director of our Scottish Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence, to further its work on gene therapy for solid tumours and progress them into clinical trials.
This pioneering treatment is initially being tested in glioblastoma, with the aim of a clinical trial opening in early 2026. It is hoped that the treatment can then be rolled out in other cancer types. Learn more about this news in this blog from Nicola Gale, our Research Communications Manager.
That’s it for this week.
We will be back again next Friday and we all wish you a peaceful time until then.
Karen, Hugh, Katherine and Jana
