Epilepsy Society at the political party conferences 2026

The Epilepsy Society has wrapped up a whirlwind month attending five of the major political party conferences, amplifying the voices of people with epilepsy.

Hundreds of delegates, including government ministers, MPs, councillors, and charity representatives, visited our stands to learn more about epilepsy and the daily impact it has on people’s lives.

A key highlight was the launch of our new campaign, Keep Care Cool. At the Labour Party Conference, the team hosted a packed event with Prospect featuring a stellar panel to discuss the critical threat that extreme heat poses to vulnerable people’s health. The panel included our chief executive, Clare Pelham; Dr Marina Romanello, Prof of Global Health and Climate Change, UCL Institute for Global Health; Prof. Benedict Michael, Director, Liverpool Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Centre; and Dr Olivier Picard, Chair, National Pharmacy Association. 

The team also met with Dame Diana Johnson MP, Minister for Public Health and Patient Safety; Sir Stephen Timms MP, Minister for Social Security and Disability, and many more MPs to push for action on making care home settings better adapted for extreme heat – and our Epilepsy Society branded fans proved very popular. 

This campaign was also brought to the Liberal Democrats party conference, where MPs including party leader Sir Ed Davey MP stopped by our stand to learn more about the campaign. 

At the Green Party Conference, discussions focused on climate adaptation and the need to recognise that increased temperatures impact everyone’s lives, whether that is increased fuel prices, food shortages and the impact of heat on people at home and at work. 

At both the Reform UK and Conservative Party Conferences, the team shined a light on another priority – medication shortages. Because epilepsy is a cliff-edge condition where missing even a single dose can lead to increased seizures, we called for action to safeguard critical medicine supply chains. MPs including Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst, Shadow Minster for Health and Social Care and Dr Luke Evans, Shadow Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero, came by our stand to learn more. 

As Parliament resumes, the team will continue conversations and drive change to improve lives for people with epilepsy.