Tina tackles MPs in Brighton

Tina Walker, Parkinson's Disease Society member and Chair of the Younger Parkinson’s Network brought the voice of people affected by Parkinson’s right to the heart of the Labour Party Conference this week.

Tina, who has Parkinson's, spoke powerfully at our packed fringe event, telling MPs and Party members about the difficulties people with Parkinson’s can face getting the services they need.

During the conference Tina managed to talk to every single member of the Labour health team about Parkinson’s issues. She shared a platform with Minister of State Mike O’Brian, raised research funding with Public Health Minister, Gillian Merron, and discussed the importance of good social care with Care Minister Phil Hope.

She extracted assurances about taking forward our Fair Care for Parkinson’s goals from Ann Keen, Under Secretary of State, and even got the ear of Andy Burnham, the Secretary of State himself (pictured with Tina above).

Tina also tackled Work and Pensions Minister Jonathan Shaw (pictured left) about problems with Employment and Support Allowance.

The warm and positive response Tina got from Ministers showed how crucial people’s first-hand experiences are in getting our message across.

That’s why it’s so important that as many people as possible sign up to our National Campaigns Network –so we can really make sure that people with Parkinson’s get heard and can change things for the better.