Campaign for children with cancer: Election edition

The next UK General Election will take place on Thursday 4th July. This is a crucial opportunity to increase the awareness and political significance of children’s cancers and the change that must happen to transform the lives of those affected. 

There are several ways you can get involved during the election period to support our ongoing campaign, Kids Get Cancer Too. We’re striving to accelerate clinical research into children’s cancer in the UK by addressing the systemic issues that are hindering progress. To do this, we’ve set out four key priorities in the Kids Get Cancer Too manifesto.

Support from the next government is crucial to the success of this work, so raising its profile throughout the election period is a great way to help. 

Ways to get involved 

Share the Kids Get Cancer Too manifesto online 

Spreading the word and raising awareness of the issues that matter to you is a great way to engage in an election. To help, we’ve prepared a toolkit to use across social media to share the key messages of the manifesto. 

Keep a copy of the manifesto to hand at home 

During the run up to the election, it’s likely that your local candidates will stop by to chat about their policies, and your needs too. This is a great opportunity to speak to them about the manifesto, the four key priorities, and what we think the next government needs to do to make a difference. You can download a copy of the full manifesto below.

Question the candidates 

Questioning your local candidates is a great way to find out where they stand on the issues you care about. To support our campaign, here are some key questions you can ask that relate to the priorities of our manifesto:

• How will you amplify/elevate the voice of children with cancer in your constituency?
• How will you engage with the work of the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to ensure it makes real and measurable impact? 
• What action will you take to address the clinical research landscape for children with cancer in the UK? 
• What is your plan to ensure that NHS infrastructure for research is properly resourced?
  

Check to see if there are any hustings being held in your constituency. A hustings is an independently held event where party candidates answer questions from the audience that is a useful opportunity to hear views from all standing candidates. 

If you are not sure who your candidates are, visit Who Can I Vote For?

Keep us updated 

Following the election, we’ll be focused on building relationships with new MPs who can champion our cause in parliament. Keeping us updated on the conversations and connections you’re making during the election run up will help us to do this more effectively. You can do this by filling out the form below.