#MEAction and the ME Association are both delighted that Carol Monaghan (MP for Glasgow North-West) has re-established a new All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on ME.

This is a parliamentary initiative for which the ME Association will be providing secretariat support. The purpose of the APPG on ME is to seek to improve health, social care, education and employment opportunities for ME sufferers and encourage biomedical research into the cause and treatment of ME.

Ms. Monaghan has campaigned tirelessly on behalf of the ME community and has led several important debates that culminated last year with ME being discussed in the House of Commons. Her continued support is very much appreciated by all concerned. 

We’d also like to thank all the MPs who supported these debates and who attended the inaugural AGM of the new APPG on 14 January 2020, and all those in the patient community who encouraged their MPs to attend.

The AGM established the topics that the APPG on ME will cover, including: 

• Access to healthcare 
• Access to financial support and welfare benefits
• Protection for children with ME
• Biomedical research spending by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)

These were agreed upon with the addition of the following topics: economic and societal impact of ME as a justification for additional spending (which was suggested by Stephen Metcalfe MP), and medical diagnosis (which was suggested by Olivia Blake MP).

A further aim of the new APPG is to produce a report paper on key issues impacting ME sufferers. 

#MEAction and the ME Association will continue to lobby parliament to encourage greater support for people with M.E. and we believe that the APPG on M.E. is one of the best ways to achieve positive change.

We would encourage individuals to raise issues with their own MPs and encourage them to attend the APPG meetings where such concerns can be discussed.

Biomedical research

The next meeting of the APPG will be on Tuesday 3rd March, from 1 – 2 pm. This will provide an opportunity for MPs to learn about issues and developments in biomedical research and funding through a series of short presentations and a Q&A discussion. There will be a number of specialist guest speakers who will discuss their research: Professor Julia Newton from Newcastle University, Professor Chris Ponting from the University of Edinburgh and a representative from the UK ME Biobank.

Please contact your MP

If you haven’t been in touch with your MP about the APPG but would like to encourage them to attend the next meeting in March, you can find information on how to contact them (and an email template) here or here. We suggest you refer all MPs to Carol Monaghan’s office for more information and for the location of the meeting.

MPs who attended the first meeting

Below is a list of the MPs that attended the first meeting in January 2020 as well as officer’s roles:

Carol Monaghan MP (Chair)

Sharon Hodgson MP (Co-Chair)

Stephen Metcalfe MP (Co-Chair)

Ben Lake MP (Vice-Chair)

Hywel Williams MP (Secretary)

Olivia Blake MP (Treasurer)

Deidre Brock MP

Fiona Bruce MP

Wayne David MP 

James Davies MP

Mary Glindon MP

Robert Goodwill MP

Margaret Greenwood MP

Dame Diana Johnson MP

Sally-Ann Hart MP

Kerry McCarthy MP 

Navendu Mishra MP

Gavin Newlands MP

Jonathan Reynolds MP

Alex Sobel MP

James Sunderland MP

Stephen Timms MP

Michael Tomlinson MP

Liz Twist MP

Note that some MPs might have sent their apologies or might have joined the APPG since this information became available to us.