BDA Public Affairs Officer Alex Ehrlich has been at the Labour and Liberal Democrat Party Conferences over the last few weeks. He shares an update on how our campaigns were advanced thanks to member engagement.
Over the last few weeks, we attended the Labour Party Conference (Liverpool) and the Liberal Democrat Conference (Bournemouth). We met MPs and stakeholders to advance our five campaigns, with a focus on free school meals, strengthening the dietetic workforce, dietetic prescribing rights, and a UK-wide food strategy rooted in prevention and sustainability.
Many of these meetings happened because members contacted their MPs. Thank you to everyone who helped set them up - below you can read the meetings we had, and their outcomes.
Labour Party Conference
Samantha Dixon MP (Chester North & Neston)
Following correspondence from Samantha's constituent and BDA member Tanya Rumney, we met and discussed prevention and the UK-wide food strategy. Samantha praised the clarity of our case and is keen to meet again.
Patrick Hurley MP (Southport)
Thanks to Patrick's contituent, BDA member Lisa Martin, we met Patrick together and covered workforce pressures and prescribing rights for dietitians. Patrick agreed to write to the Secretary of State referencing the University of Surrey evidence.
Margaret Mullane MP (Dagenham and Rainham)
BDA member Ngozi Ojimba got in touch and asked us to speak with Margaret. Margaret backed universal free school meals for areas with high deprivation, and understood AHP workforce issues.
Margaret has committed to supporting our work, including the possibility of facilitating a roundtable with a Health Minister and AHP representatives next year. She also offered to raise parliamentary questions and begin a dialogue with colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care on our behalf.
James Naish MP (Rushcliffe)
Following outreach by BDA member and dietetic lecturer Ellie Coles, we met with James. Ellie spoke passionately about our workforce campaign, and James agreed to raise this with the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee and write to Ministers on our behalf. He also engaged with our food strategy asks for rural areas.
Yet again this shows how member engagement makes a real difference, opening doors and helping us secure political support.
Andrew Cooper MP (Mid Cheshire)
Andrew has been engaged with our campaigns and remains committed to keeping an open dialogue with us. We shared the latest updates on our priorities, and he reiterated his willingness to support our work in any way he can.
Sarah Russell MP (Congleton)
Although there wasn’t time to go into the detail of our campaigns, Sarah was keen to meet with the BDA properly - and we’re in the process of arranging a longer conversation.
Sir Stephen Timms MP (East Ham) – Minister of State for Social Security and Disability
Enabled by BDA member Kalpana Hussain, his constituent in East Ham, Sir Stephen said he would be open to a longer meeting in London with Kalpana and the BDA. We focused on free school meals and prescribing rights, and he was interested in evidence on potential NHS savings and better patient experience.
Partnership work
We also met with Marie Burton, who leads the No Child Left Behind campaign at the National Education Union (NEU). The BDA and NEU work together on this campaign, and we discussed how to coordinate the next steps on free school meals for all.
Liberal Democrat Conference
Wera Hobhouse MP (Bath) – Chair, All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Eating Disorders
We agreed to connect with the APPG Secretariat to explore how the BDA can support its work. Wera recognised the link between prevention, mental health and the need for dietitians in solutions. We also discussed free school meals, the food strategy and workforce growth.
We also met with Connor Naismith MP (Labour, Crewe and Nantwich) to share our priorities, and Jess Brown-Fuller MP (Liberal Democrat, Chichester) thanks to BDA member Harriet Smith. We presented her Harriet's points, focusing on the UK-wide food strategy. Jess agreed to meet Harriet and the BDA in Chichester.
What does this mean for members?
- Member contact unlocks meetings. Where constituents introduced us, MPs met us and moved actions forward.
- Prevention and capacity resonate. Framing our asks around prevention and NHS pressure helps decision-makers see where dietitians add value.
Next steps
We will follow up with MPs on letters, parliamentary questions and potential roundtables.
We will be sharing resources that help members engage locally, including our forthcoming Political Engagement Toolkit, launching soon.
Get involved
If you’d like support to contact your MP or set up a local meeting, email [email protected] and we’ll provide materials and briefings.
