Campaigning for change in Scotland

Your voice is powerful. Together, the Parkinson’s community in Scotland can deliver change. The Scottish Parliament election showed that. Thanks to you, we engaged with all 6 party leaders, who are now represented in the newly elected Scottish Parliament.

Now we want to maintain the momentum to influence members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and ministers to improve the lives of people with Parkinson’s.

What we did

We asked you to send a postcard to party leaders asking what their party will do about Parkinson’s issues. Thanks to you, we delivered more than 800 postcards from all over Scotland. We met with all the party leaders and put your priorities to them.

Some people also printed an election poster to display, or wrote to their election candidates. We have heard from politicians that they saw these actions. Thank you!

See us meeting all 6 party leaders

A group of people in Parkinson's UK t-shirts stand on the steps with First Minister, John Swinney. John is carrying a sack that says 'Your move! Mail' which is filled with postcards. Another member of the group is holding an oversized postcard that says 'Want my vote? Then let's talk about Parkinson's. Your move!'.

We met the First Minister, John Swinney, in Dundee.

3 people in Parkinson's UK t-shirts stand with Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar. Together they're holding a sack that says 'Your move! Mail' which is filled with postcards and an oversized postcard that says 'Want my vote? Then let's talk about Parkinson's. Your move!'.

We met Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, in Edinburgh.

3 people in Parkinson's UK t-shirts stand with Reform UK Scotland leader, Malcolm Offord. Together, they're holding a mailbag overflowing with 'Your Move' postcards, and a oversized postcard that says 'Want my vote? Then let's talk about Parkinson's. Your move!'.

We met Reform UK Scotland leader, Malcolm Offord, in Edinburgh.

A group of people in Parkinson's UK t-shirts stand with Scottish Green co-leader, Gillian Mackay. Together they're holding a sack that says 'Your move! Mail' which is filled with postcards and an oversized postcard that says 'Want my vote? Then let's talk about Parkinson's. Your move!'.

We met Scottish Green co-leader, Gillian Mackay, in Edinburgh.

A group of people in Parkinson's UK t-shirts stand with Scottish Conservative leader, Russell Findlay. Together they're holding a sack that says 'Your move! Mail' which is filled with postcards and an oversized postcard that says 'Want my vote? Then let's talk about Parkinson's. Your move!'.

We met Scottish Conservative leader, Russell Findlay, in Glasgow.

A group of people in Parkinson's UK t-shirts standing with Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, Alex Cole-Hamilton. Together they're holding a mail bag overflowing with 'Your move' postcards and an oversized postcard that says 'Want my vote? Then let's talk about Parkinson's. Your move!'.

We met Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, Alex Cole-Hamilton, in Edinburgh.

Our priorities

We reflected 9 issues that matter for people with Parkinson’s in our manifesto, including:

improvements in health and care
maintaining financial support
increasing access to physical activity
boosting clinical research opportunities.

Read "Your Move: the Parkinson's manifesto for the Scottish Parliament election" (PDF, 5.8MB).

Watch members of the Parkinson's community explain why these issues are important on YouTube.

Our call to make new treatments available more quickly was included in the Scottish Labour Party’s manifesto. We were also pleased to see support for local physical activity opportunities and support for clinical research in several parties’ plans. We’ll now work with MSPs to make sure they deliver on their promises.

Get involved

Write to your MSPs

Did you know that half of all the MSPs elected in May are new to the Scottish Parliament?

This is a great time to contact your constituency and regional MSPs to congratulate them on their election, and ask them to make their move for Parkinson’s.

You have 1 constituency MSP, and 7 regional ones: 8 MSPs in total.

Find their contact details by entering your postcode on the Scottish Parliament website.

If you need help contacting your MSP, let us know. And please tell us if they are supportive. This helps us support them to deliver on any commitments they’ve made.

Become a member of our Campaigns Network

Our UK-wide Campaigns Network is made up of over 10,000 people, all working together to make a real difference for people living with Parkinson's.

We’ll contact you (usually monthly) with a campaign action for you to take. This could include:

contacting the UK or Scottish Government, your local decision maker, or service planner to support a campaign or resolve a problem
sharing your experiences
completing a survey
joining others to bring about change.

Join our Campaigns Network.

Join our Scottish Parkinson’s Influencers Network (SPIN)

Everyone who lives with Parkinson's, or cares for someone who does, should get the support and treatment they need, no matter where they live. Unfortunately, many people don't have access to the right care. You can change this.

The Scottish Parkinson’s Influencers Network (SPIN) is your opportunity to get more involved in influencing politicians and decision makers on the importance of support for people with Parkinson's in Scotland.

You don't need to be an expert in campaigning. We'll provide training on how to campaign and grow relationships with decision makers. You’ll learn and develop valuable skills, all while doing something meaningful for the Parkinson's community.

Find out more by emailing [email protected]

Share your story

Every Parkinson's story matters. Your story could help someone feel less alone, support a campaign, raise awareness, or help others understand more about Parkinson’s. Whether you're living with Parkinson’s or supporting someone who is, we’d love to hear from you.

Share your story.

Get in touch

We’d love to hear from you! You can contact Tanith and Mairi by emailing us at [email protected].