‘Be prepared to fall down’: Pharmacy MP candidates’ election reflections

“Humbling”, “historic” and “a big challenge” – pharmacy parliamentary candidates recount what it’s like to run in an election.  

"The election results in the area were disappointing, but not unexpected"

After the Labour Party secured a historic majority last week (July 5), the pharmacy sector’s parliamentary candidates have taken to social media to reflect on the experience.

Chief executive of the IPA Leyla Hannbeck said that the experience had “taught [her] so much - to go into the unknown, embrace a big challenge and develop resilience” in a LinkedIn post yesterday (July 7).

Read more: AIMp CEO Leyla Hannbeck to stand as MP in next general election

The Liberal Democrat candidate for Broadland and Fakenham finished fourth with 5,526 votes in a seat won by Conservative Jerome Mayhew with 16,322 votes, just 700 ahead of the Labour candidate.

Hannbeck said that the “election results in the area were disappointing, but not unexpected”, adding that “we were not a priority seat and did not expect to win but our aim was to get a decent number of votes, which we did”.

Read more: Prime Minister Keir Starmer reveals new health secretary

She thanked constituency members, campaign volunteers and IPA members for their support and said the campaign was “very enlightening and inspiring”.

Adding that she had never stood in an election before and does not live in the rural Norfolk region, she said it was “totally outside of [her] comfort zone but a challenge [she] was prepared to take on and learn from”.

“I learned so much about life and people…It also taught me that you must be prepared to fall down but you can get up again if you have the will,” she added.

“My chance to say thank you”

Meanwhile today (July 8), new Labour MP and superintendent pharmacist of PillTime Sadik Al-Hassan took to X (formerly twitter) to thank “those who put their trust” in him.

Al-Hassan’s 639 vote majority ousted the tory grandee Sir Liam Fox, who had represented North Somerset for more than 30 years.

“On my way to work in my new role in UK Parliament on behalf of North Somerset”, he said today.

Read more: Pharmacist defeats GP as voters issue a potent prescription for Labour

“It is time for me to fight for our fair share and deliver for the people,” he added. 

Yesterday (July 7), Al-Hassan said that he was “immensely proud” to celebrate the “historic win” in the North Somerset town of Nailsea.

“It was my chance to say thank you to all of [the] leafleteers, canvassers, polling station tellers, social media warriors, campaign coordinators and so many others who made this possible,” he added.

“Truly humbling”

Registered pharmacist and previous chair of the All-Party Pharmacy Group (APPG) Taiwo Owatemi also expressed her “gratitude to the people of Coventry North West” in an X post last week (July 5).

The Labour MP retained her seat in Coventry North West with an increased share of the vote. 

“Your trust in me, in our shared vision, for a brighter future, is truly humbling,” she added. 

Read more: Pharmacist and Labour MP Taiwo Owatemi appointed APPG chair

Today, she said that she was “on [her] way back to Westminster” and that “over the next few weeks, [her] team will be catching up with all non-emergency cases sent to [her] office during [the] dissolution [of parliament]… Let’s do this!”

It comes after Community Pharmacy England (CPE) last week (July 5) said that it “will be seeking early meetings with new government ministers” at the Department of Health and Social Care (DH).

Read more: CPE ‘seeking early meetings’ with DH but funding negotiations ‘weeks’ away

However, it stressed that formal negotiations on a new funding deal may not begin for “some weeks”, even in a “best-case scenario”.

The negotiator added that “no spending commitments to pharmacy have been made” and warned that “the Labour Party has been clear that it will follow the preceding government’s fiscal rules, meaning public finances will remain very challenging across the board”.

Sign in or register for free

Kate Bowie

Read more by Kate Bowie

Kate Bowie joined C+D as a digital reporter in August 2023 after graduating from a master’s in journalism at City, University of London. She began covering the primary care beat at the end of 2022, when she carried out several health investigations focused on staffing issues, NHS funding and health inequalities.

Latest from News

GPhC considering AI-written ‘on-demand’ calculations paper

 
• By 

The pharmacy regulator has considered using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to ‘clone’ questions in part of the registration exam – and contemplated scrapping the calculations paper entirely.

Public want more services offered at pharmacies, YouGov reveals

 
• By 

Three quarters of the respondents to a YouGov poll said they support pharmacies providing treatment for additional conditions, including chest infections and skin conditions.

Salary Survey: Do you have faith in the government?

 

After 14 years of Conservative rule, Labour stormed to an election victory in July. Does community pharmacy think the new regime understands pharmacy better than the last one?

More from Politics

Pharmacy First: Government ‘acting on’ GP refusal to engage

 
• By 

A health minister has said that the government is “acting on” reports that GPs are “unwilling to direct patients” to community pharmacies and Pharmacy First services.

MPs discuss state-wide pharmacy ‘assisted dying drugs’ service

 
• By 

MPs have discussed a “centralised” assisted dying pharmacy service, amid calls from sector leaders for pharmacists to “opt in” to participation in assisted dying “rather than having to opt out”.